Pterodroma macroptera
Silhouette: Kimberly Haddrell · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The great-winged petrel (Pterodroma macroptera) is a petrel living and breeding in the world's Southern Ocean. As of 2014, the latter is recognized as a species in its own right, the grey-faced petrel (Pterodroma gouldi). In 2016 further research was published supporting the full species status of the grey-faced petrel.
This is a large seabird, with a body length of 42–45 cm. The bird is completely dark brown except for a variable patch of white near the base of the bill, which is black. It is separated from sooty shearwater and short-tailed shearwater by the all-dark underwing, the thick, stubby bill, and different jizz. The similar flesh-footed shearwater has a light, pinkish bill. Petrels in the genus Procellaria are larger and have a less bounding flight.
The great-winged petrel breeds in the Southern Hemisphere between 30 and 50 degrees south with colonies on Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, the Crozet Islands, the Prince Edward Islands, the Kerguelen Islands and on the coasts of southern... Wikipedia →
Recording0:15
New Zealand · 2019
© Spencer McIntyre · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
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New Zealand · 2019
© Chris Harrison · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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New Zealand · 2025
© Emily Roberts · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great-winged Petrel sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 199th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great-winged Petrel in Sydney on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great-winged Petrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Sydney, in our data
Sydney is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Great-winged Petrel sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great-winged Petrel is recorded against all the birds logged in Sydney (17 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
