birding...

It is generally accepted that Procellariidae split into four broad groups; the fulmars (Fulmarus); the gadfly-petrels (Pterodroma); the prions (Pachyptila) and the shearwaters (Puffinus)....

According to the IOC there are 85 species in this family; which are:

Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus
Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli

Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis
Southern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides

Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica

Cape Petrel Daption capense

Snow Petrel Pagodroma nivea

Blue Petrel Halobaena caerulea

Broad-billed Prion Pachyptila vittata
Salvin's Prion Pachyptila salvini
Antarctic Prion Pachyptila desolata
Slender-billed Prion Pachyptila belcheri
Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur
Fulmar Prion Pachyptila crassirostris

Kerguelen Petrel Aphrodroma brevirostris

Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma macroptera
White-headed Petrel Pterodroma lessonii
Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta
Providence Petrel Pterodroma solandri
Magenta Petrel Pterodroma magentae
Murphy's Petrel Pterodroma ultima
Soft-plumaged Petrel Pterodroma mollis
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae
Cahow Pterodroma cahow
Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata
Juan Fernandez Petrel Pterodroma externa
Vanuatu Petrel Pterodroma occulta
Kermadec Petrel Pterodroma neglecta
Herald Petrel Pterodroma heraldica
Trindade Petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana
Henderson Petrel Pterodroma atrata
Phoenix Petrel Pterodroma alba
Barau's Petrel Pterodroma baraui
Hawaiian Petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis
Galapagos Petrel Pterodroma phaeopygia
Mottled Petrel Pterodroma inexpectata
White-necked Petrel Pterodroma cervicalis
Black-winged Petrel Pterodroma nigripennis
Chatham Petrel Pterodroma axillaris
Bonin Petrel Pterodroma hypoleuca
Gould's Petrel Pterodroma leucoptera
Collared Petrel Pterodroma brevipes
Cook's Petrel Pterodroma cookii
De Filippi's Petrel Pterodroma defilippiana
Stejneger's Petrel Pterodroma longirostris
Pycroft's Petrel Pterodroma pycrofti

Mascarene Petrel Pseudobulweria aterrima
Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata
Beck's Petrel Pseudobulweria becki
Fiji Petrel Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi

Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea
White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis
Spectacled Petrel Procellaria conspicillata
Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni
Westland Petrel Procellaria westlandica

Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas
Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea
Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris edwardsii

Christmas Shearwater Puffinus nativitatis
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus
Buller's Shearwater Puffinus bulleri
Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus
Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan
Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus
Black-vented Shearwater Puffinus opisthomelas
Townsend's Shearwater Puffinus auricularis
Newell's Shearwater Puffinus newelli
Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia
Hutton's Shearwater Puffinus huttoni
Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri
Persian Shearwater Puffinus persicus
Tropical Shearwater Puffinus bailloni
Galapagos Shearwater Puffinus subalaris
Bannerman's Shearwater Puffinus bannermani
Heinroth's Shearwater Puffinus heinrothi
Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis
Macaronesian Shearwater Puffinus baroli
Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus
Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris
Pink-footed Shearwater Puffinus creatopus
Flesh-footed Shearwater Puffinus carneipes
Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis

Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii
Jouanin's Petrel Bulweria fallax

Procellariidae

The family Procellariidae represents an enigmatic group of pelagic birds typically characterized by their tube-shaped nostrils. Most come to land only to breed; they are otherwise highly adapted to an ocean existence. Some are resident around breeding islands; others are spectacularly long-distance migrants. One can only marvel at the distances travelled by some species.

Tube-nosed species such as those represented by the procellarid group can be seen throughout the oceans of the world but the southern oceans are particularly awe-inspiring, with a wide variety of species and in many locations huge numbers of birds occupying what to us is considered inhospitable habitat. A pterodroma arcing over the horizon epitomises the untamed ocean realm and they appear at home miles from land in, what to us would be, frightening seas.

The group consists of Fulmars, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels & Prions and a long list of petrel species ranging from the Snow Petrel in Antarctica to the Westland Petrel in New Zealand. Many locations support huge numbers of seabirds. These can include a half-million Sooty Shearwaters circling the shores of Monterey Bay, California, in the northern summer, over 3 million Short-tailed Shearwaters migrating from Japanese waters to Tasmania each year or flights of thousands of prions at high latitudes in the South Atlantic Ocean. For sea-watchers in northern waters, Autumn storms often presage passages of wave-clipping shearwaters but one needs luck to see many species from the land in Europe or North America.

Anyone that has been on an oceanic voyage in the southern ocean will be struck by the variety and density of seabirds but sadly many species are very rare, endangered and little known and much work is required to ensure their continued existence.

Procellarids mostly breed on offshore islands, many of them using burrows or caves. Because they nest on the ground they are especially susceptible to ground predators like dogs, cats, rats, weasels and the like, some in Australia may lose young to snakes! Because many of the important breeding islands are not predator-free, procellarids have declined in many places around the world. Efforts to save petrel and shearwater populations have galvanized conservation efforts globally. UK conservation recently declared one historic breeding island predator free for the first time in over a century and such effort needs to be made in many other locations where man has thoughtlessly allowed domestic pets to run wild or accidentally introduced verminous rodents.

A number of scientific papers, books and websites are tackling this family – see below for details.

This group fascinates us in the same way as Whales and Dolphins do – they are at home in an element that is awe-inspiringly powerful, and seem oblivious to conditions that are often very frightening to humans.

A selection of recent identification papers adding to our knowledge include:

Soft-plumaged/Fea`s/Zino`s petrel set are addressed by Tove (1997)
Bermuda Petrel is covered by Wingate et al. (1998).
Small Pterodromas of the Pacific, Roberson & Bailey (1991) is essential.
Dark Pterodromas of the Pacific, Bailey et al. (1989) is a key resource.
Tahiti/Phoenix petrels and on other tropical Pacific problems, see Spear et al. (1992)