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Kōrero: Petrels

Petrels that breed in New Zealand

Common name Species (or subspecies) Weight (grams)
Fulmarine petrels (9 species worldwide)
Snares Cape petrel Daption capense australe 450
Northern giant petrel Macronectes halli 4,500
Gadfly petrels (33 species worldwide)
Pycroft's petrel Pterodroma pycrofti 160
Cook's petrel Pterodroma cookii 200
Black-winged petrel Pterodroma nigripennis 175
Chatham petrel Pterodroma axillaris 200
Mottled petrel Pterodroma inexpectata 325
White-naped petrel Pterodroma cervicalis 450
Kermadec petrel Pterodroma neglecta 500
Grey-faced petrel Pterodroma macroptera gouldi 550
Taiko Pterodoma magentae 475
White-headed petrel Pterodroma lessonii 600
Soft-plumaged petrel Pterodroma mollis 300
Prions (6 species worldwide)
Fairy prion Pachyptila turtur 125
Fulmar prion Pachyptila crassirostris crassirostris 140
Chatham fulmar prion Pachyptila crassirostris pyramidalis ~140
Lesser fulmar prion Pachyptila crassirostris flemingi ~140
Antarctic prion Pachyptila desolata 150
Broad-billed prion Pachyptila vittata 200
Procellaria petrels (5 species worldwide)
Grey petrel Procellaria cinerea 1,000
Black petrel Procellaria parkinsoni 700
Westland petrel Procellaria westlandica 1,100
White-chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis 1,250
Shearwaters (28 species worldwide)
Flesh-footed shearwater Puffinus carneipes 600
Wedge-tailed shearwater Puffinus pacificus 450
Buller's shearwater Puffinus bulleri 425
Sooty shearwater Puffinus griseus 800
Fluttering shearwater Puffinus gavia 300
Hutton's shearwater Puffinus huttoni 350
Kermadec little shearwater Puffinus assimilis kermadecensis ~200
North Island little shearwater Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis ~200
Subantarctic little shearwater Puffinus elegans ~200
Diving petrels (4 species worldwide)
Northern diving petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix urinatrix 130
Southern diving petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix chathamensis ~130
Subantarctic diving petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix exsul ~130
South Georgian diving petrel Pelecanoides georgicus 120
Storm petrels (23 species worldwide)
New Zealand storm petrel Fregetta maorianus 35
Grey-backed storm petrel Garrodia nereis 35
New Zealand white-faced storm petrel Pelagodroma marina maoriana 45
Kermadec storm petrel Pelagodroma albiclunis ~45
Black-bellied storm petrel Fregetta tropica 55
White-bellied storm petrel Fregetta grallaria 50

This table gives the number of species in each group of petrels worldwide and lists the species that breed in the New Zealand region, including the Kermadec, Chatham and subantarctic islands. Albatrosses are not included here. 

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Sources: New Zealand Birds Online; Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Flight of the huia. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 2004, pp. 345–346

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Petrels – Shearwaters, Procellaria and fulmarine petrels, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/interactive/8582/petrels-that-breed-in-new-zealand (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Kerry-Jayne Wilson, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.