Procellariidae: Petrels and Shearwaters

Buller’s Shearwater.  © David M. Bell

Petrels and shearwaters are birds of the high seas, rarely approaching land except when nesting.  Like albatrosses, they are able to glide effortlessly and endlessly on stiffly outstretched wings, sailing on any breath of wind, as they patrol vast expanses of open ocean in search of food.  The Procellariidae are the most diverse and widespread of the four “tubenose” families—named for tubular nostril-like structures on the tops of their bills that secrete excess ocean salt and apparently enable the birds to detect scents with great sensitivity and follow them to productive foraging sites scattered across vast featureless expanses of open ocean.

Identification

Petrels and shearwaters present numerous identification challenges, not least because they are difficult to see clearly under typical field conditions at sea, as many observations are fleeting glimpses at long range and high speed from a moving platform.  Even under ideal circumstances, many species are very similar to their relatives and identification often turns on subtle differences in wing and facial patterns that are variable and strongly affected by molt stage and lighting conditions.  Other features that can be useful in identification include bulk and flight behavior, which are difficult to judge objectively, rely on the observer’s experience, and require rapid integration of contextual factors such as the angle of view, wind strength, and sea state.

Taxonomy

Genetic analyses have advanced the understanding of relationships within the Procellariidae and indicate that it comprises four subfamily-level lineages:

Fulmarinae: Fulmars (8 or 9 species)

Pelecanoidinae: Diving-petrels and prions (13 to 20 species)

Pterodrominae: Gadfly petrels (34 to 37 species, plus 2 recently extinct)

Procellariinae: Typical petrels and shearwaters (47 to 52 species, plus 1 recently extinct)

The species-level classification of petrels and shearwaters has undergone dramatic revisions since the 1990s, with a general trend toward recognition of greater diversity among forms that were previously regarded as subspecies.  Most dramatically, three groups of small shearwaters—formerly Manx, Audubon’s, and Little—have been subdivided into a total of anywhere from 23 to 28 species.  This reclassification process continues and includes other examples such as the former Cory’s Shearwater (now Cory’s, Scopoli’s, and Cape Verde) and Soft-plumaged Petrel (now Soft-plumaged, Cape Verde, Desertas, and Zino’s).  The resulting tally of procellariids rests somewhere in the span of 102 to 118 species (plus 3 recently extinct).

Lesser Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea)

Greater Snow Petrel (Pagodroma confusa)

Antarctic Petrel (Thalassoica antarctica)

Cape Petrel (Daption capense)

Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus)

Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli)

Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides)

Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)

“Atlantic Fulmar” (F. g. glacialis)

“Pacific Fulmar” (F. g. rodgersii)

Kerguelen Petrel (Aphrodroma brevirostris)

Peruvian Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides garnotii)

Common Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix)

“Subtropical Diving-Petrel” (P. u. urinatrix)

“Chatham Diving-Petrel” (P. u. chathamensis)

“Tristan Diving-Petrel” (P. u. dacunhae)

“Falkland Diving-Petrel” (P. u. berard)

“Subantarctic Diving-Petrel” (P. u. exsul)

South Georgia Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus)

“South Georgia Diving-Petrel” (P. g. georgicus)

“Codfish Diving-Petrel” (P. g. whenuahouensis)

Magellanic Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides magellani)

Blue Petrel (Halobaena caerulea)

Broad-billed Prion (Pachyptila vittata)

Salvin’s Prion (Pachyptila salvini)

MacGillivray’s Prion (Pachyptila macgillivrayi)

Antarctic Prion (Pachyptila desolata)

Slender-billed Prion (Pachyptila belcheri)

Fairy Prion (Pachyptila turtur)

“Northern Fairy Prion” (P. t. turtur)

“Subantarctic Fairy Prion” (P. t. subantarctica)

Fulmar Prion (Pachyptila crassirostris)

“Greater Fulmar Prion” (P. c. crassirostris)

“Lesser Fulmar Prion” (P. c. flemingi)

Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca)

White-winged Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera)

“Gould’s Petrel” (P. l. leucoptera)

“New Caledonia Petrel” (P. l. caledonica)

Chatham Petrel (Pterodroma axillaris)

Black-winged Petrel (Pterodroma nigripennis)

Cook’s Petrel (Pterodroma cookii)

Pycroft’s Petrel (Pterodroma pycrofti)

Collared Petrel (Pterodroma brevipes)

“Collared Petrel” (P. b. brevipes)

“Magnificent Petrel” (P. b. magnificens)

De Filippi’s Petrel (Pterodroma defilippiana)

Stejneger’s Petrel (Pterodroma longirostris)

Mottled Petrel (Pterodroma inexpectata)

Phoenix Petrel (Pterodroma alba)

Herald Petrel (Pterodroma heraldica)

Trindade Petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana)

Henderson Petrel (Pterodroma atrata)

Kermadec Petrel (Pterodroma neglecta)

Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri)

Murphy’s Petrel (Pterodroma ultima)

Vanuatu Petrel (Pterodroma occulta)

White-necked Petrel (Pterodroma cervicalis)

Juan Fernández Petrel (Pterodroma externa)

Barau’s Petrel (Pterodroma baraui)

Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis)

Galápagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia)

Jamaican Petrel (Pterodroma caribbaea) †

Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata)

Bermuda Petrel (Pterodroma cahow)

Zino’s Petrel (Pterodroma madeira)

Desertas Petrel (Pterodroma deserta)

Cape Verde Petrel (Pterodroma feae)

St. Helena Petrel (Pterodroma rupinarum) †

Soft-plumaged Petrel (Pterodroma mollis)

Great-winged Petrel (Pterodroma macroptera)

Gray-faced Petrel (Pterodroma gouldi)

White-headed Petrel (Pterodroma lessonii)

Atlantic Petrel (Pterodroma incerta)

Magenta Petrel (Pterodroma magentae)

White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis)

Spectacled Petrel (Procellaria conspicillata)

Parkinson’s Petrel (Procellaria parkinsoni)

Westland Petrel (Procellaria westlandica)

Gray Petrel (Procellaria cinerea)

Fiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi)

Mascarene Petrel (Pseudobulweria aterrima)

Beck’s Petrel (Pseudobulweria becki)

Tahiti Petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata)

Bulwer’s Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii)

Olson’s Petrel (Bulweria bifax) †

Jouanin’s Petrel (Bulweria fallax)

Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica)

Buller’s Shearwater (Ardenna bulleri)

Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes)

Pink-footed Shearwater (Ardenna creatopus)

Great Shearwater (Ardenna gravis)

Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea)

Short-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris)

Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)

Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis)

Scopoli’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea)

Cape Verde Shearwater (Calonectris edwardsii)

Heinroth’s Shearwater (Puffinus heinrothi)

Christmas Shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis)

Galápagos Shearwater (Puffinus subalaris)

Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus)

Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus)

Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan)

Black-vented Shearwater (Puffinus opisthomelas)

Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus gavia)

Hutton’s Shearwater (Puffinus huttoni)

Little Shearwater (Puffinus assimilis)

“West Australian Shearwater” (P. a. tunneyi)

“Tasman Shearwater” (P. a. assimilis)

“Kermadec Shearwater” (P. a. kermadecensis)

“Hauraki Shearwater” (P. a. haurakiensis)

Subantarctic Shearwater (Puffinus elegans)

Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri)

Barolo Shearwater (Puffinus baroli)

Boyd’s Shearwater (Puffinus boydi)

Bannerman’s Shearwater (Puffinus bannermani)

Persian Shearwater (Puffinus persicus)

“Persian Shearwater” (P. p. persicus)

“Mohéli Shearwater” (P. p. temptator)

Seychelles Shearwater (Puffinus nicolae)

“Seychelles Shearwater” (P. n. nicolae)

“Aldabra Shearwater” (P. n. nicolae)

Baillon’s Shearwater (Puffinus bailloni)

Micronesian Shearwater (Puffinus dichrous)

Melanesian Shearwater (Puffinus gunax)

Polynesian Shearwater (Puffinus polynesiae)

Bryan’s Shearwater (Puffinus bryani)

Rapa Shearwater (Puffinus myrtae)

Newell’s Shearwater (Puffinus newelli)

Townsend’s Shearwater (Puffinus auricularis)

References

Boyd, J.H., 2019. Taxonomy in Flux: Mirandornithes & Ardeae I. http://jboyd.net/Taxo/List8.html#procellariiformes. (Posted December 15, 2016; Accessed July 7, 2020.)

Brooke, M. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels across the World. Oxford University Press.

Howell, S.N.G. 2012. Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm-Petrels of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.

Howell, S.N.G., and K. Zufelt. 2019. Oceanic Birds of the World. Princeton University Press.

Hume, J.P. 2017. Extinct Birds (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London.

Onley, D., and P. Scofield. 2007. Albatrosses, Petrels & Shearwaters of the World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.

Prum, R.O., J.S. Berv, A. Dornburg, D.J. Field, J.P. Townsend, E.M. Lemmon, and A.R. Lemmon. 2015. A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing. Nature 526:569-73.

Roberson, D. 2016. Bird Families of the World: Petrels, Shearwaters & Allies, Procellariidae, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/petrels.html. (Posted February 18, 2016. Accessed December 29, 2018.)