Bulweria bulwerii
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Bulwer's petrel (Bulweria bulwerii) is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae that is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is named after the English naturalist James Bulwer.
Bulwer's petrel was formally described in 1828 by the naturalists Jardine and Selby who coined the binomial name Procellaria bulwerii. The specific epithet was chosen to acknowledge the artist and naturalist James Bulwer who had collected the type specimen on the island of Madeira. Bulwer's petrel is now placed in the genus Bulweria that was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
This very long-winged petrel is 25–29 cm (9.8–11.4 in) in length with a 78–90 cm (31–35 in) wingspan. It has mainly brown plumage and a long pointed tail. It has a buoyant twisting flight as it picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface.
The species has a wide distribution through tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, it is a year-round resident in Cabo Verde, China, French Guiana, Indonesia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Komodo National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal |
No species of the same family or order lives in Komodo National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bulwer's Petrel sighting in Komodo National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 55th most-seen of the 76 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Bulwer's Petrel in Komodo National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–August and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Komodo National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 200 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bulwer's Petrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Bulwer's Petrel sightings, Komodo National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Raja Ampat (Indonesia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bulwer's Petrel is recorded against all the birds logged in Komodo National Park (19 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.
