Pterodroma mollis
Silhouette: Kimberly Haddrell · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The soft-plumaged petrel (Pterodroma mollis) is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. It breeds on islands in the Southern Hemisphere, nesting on Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, the Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Macquarie Island, and on the Antipodes Islands of New Zealand. Small numbers breed in the Maatsuyker Island Group of southern Tasmania. It disperses outside the breeding season, reaching eastern South America north to Brazil, southern Africa and Australia. It has occurred as a vagrant in Norway and Jordan.
Fea's petrel (P. feae), Desertas petrel (P. desertae) and Zino's petrel (P. madeira) of the North Atlantic were formerly treated as subspecies of this bird. The soft-plumaged petrel is a medium-sized petrel. Its plumage is dark grey and white, and its wings are narrow and with a pointed tail distinct in flight. It has a dark grey head with prominent white feathers on the cheeks and throat. There is a white speckling on forehead along with a prominent dark eye patch. Its underside is mostly white, which turned dark grey at underwings. The bill is black and about 25–32 mm long and has a sharp hook. Its...
Call1:02
New Zealand · 2020
© David Boyle · XC927149 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 🇬🇸 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |
| 2 | Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands | 🇦🇶 Antarctica | |
| 3 | Falkland Islands | 🇫🇰 Falkland Islands | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Soft-plumaged Petrel sighting in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 37 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Soft-plumaged Petrel in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and September–February, the lowest months. July and August have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Soft-plumaged 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 4 parks where we can rate Soft-plumaged Petrel sightings, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands (Antarctica, under 5%) and Falkland Islands (Falkland Islands, under 5%).
Same family: Procellariidae
The closest relatives of the Soft-plumaged Petrel that you can see in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (family Procellariidae, Shearwaters and Petrels) are Southern Giant Petrel (about 80%), Northern Giant Petrel (about 80%) and White-chinned Petrel (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Soft-plumaged Petrel is recorded against all the birds logged in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (27 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.
