Garrodia nereis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The grey-backed storm petrel (Garrodia nereis) is a species of seabird in the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is monotypic within the genus Garrodia. It is found in Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Falkland Islands, French Southern Territories, New Zealand, Saint Helena, South Africa, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Its natural habitat is open seas. It is highly attracted to bright lights, especially in conditions of low visibility.
The genus Garrodia was created by William Alexander Forbes in 1881 and named after English zoologist Alfred Henry Garrod, while the specific descriptor is an allusion to the Nereids, the sea nymphs of Greek mythology. Grey-backed storm petrel is a small bird, 21-44 g in weight with a 39–40 cm wingspan. Like others in its family it is dark grey overall with a black head and belly, but it can be distinguished from other storm-petrels in its range by its light grey rump compared to the white rump on others. The Grey-backed petrel has a pale back, black legs, a square tail and a white belly.
The grey-backed storm petrel has a distribution in the subantarctic in three disjunct...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 🇬🇸 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |
| 2 | Falkland Islands | 🇫🇰 Falkland Islands |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-backed Storm-Petrel sighting in Falkland Islands on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th most-seen of the 79 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-backed Storm-Petrel in Falkland Islands 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 Gray-backed Storm-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.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Gray-backed Storm-Petrel sightings, Falkland Islands ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray-backed Storm-Petrel is recorded against all the birds logged in Falkland Islands (39 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
