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Story: Petrels

Sooty shearwater in flight

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Sooty shearwater in flight

Shearwaters are named for their habit of slicing the air just above the water as they glide on stiff, pointed wings. Only occasionally flapping their wings, they gain height by flying into the wind, then glide in a broad arc.

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by Brent Stephenson

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How to cite this page

Kerry-Jayne Wilson, Petrels – Shearwaters, Procellaria and fulmarine petrels, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8585/sooty-shearwater-in-flight (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Kerry-Jayne Wilson, published 2 March 2009.