Family PROCELLARIIDAE Leach, 1820

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Regional Maps

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Bock, W.J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1-281 [130]

Introduction

There are four distinctive groupings within the family Procellariidae – fulmars with prominently long nasal tubes; petrels with long wings and short, hooked bills; prions with small bodies and adaptations for filter feeding; and shearwaters adapted to diving often to great depth. They are a marine family that has been recognised for a lengthy period although it has increased and decreased in its composition of both genera and species (e.g. Nunn & Stanley (1998). DNA analysis and interpretation of the family (e.g. Bretagnolle et al. 1998, Ericson et al. 2006, Christidis & Boles 2008) has confirmed its position within the order Procellariiformes. The family enjoys a marine cosmopolitan distribution. Sizes vary from the diminutive prions and Little Shearwater to the gigantic giant petrels. Feeding is conducted by a variety of methods from scavenging floating items to diving often to great depths; included in their prey are squid, crustacean and fish. There are 75 species in 14 genera, 54 of which are Australian.

Procellarids are widely distributed throughout all oceans and seas in both coastal and pelagic situations. They are often found in large concentrations during, often lengthy and dramatic, migration or while feeding the majority also nest in colonies on offshore islands. The plumage colour is dull blue, grey, brown to black to white or patterns of both, the feet are webbed and the legs situated towards the rear of the body reflecting their marine existence. There are no discernable differences in sexual morphology. A majority employ a series of flapping and gliding although some soaring is prominent with selective species. Their vocalisations are generally of a weird ‘wailing, moaning, screaming, cackling and squalling’ (Bourne in Campbell & Lack 1985) often uttered at night when in or near the nesting chamber. Marine in nature they may also be found in river estuaries or rarely in inland situations following inclement weather.

The majority of species breed on offshore island colonies within overhangs or in excavated burrows; others place their frail nest structure within small cavities. The same nest site is annually occupied by each pair. Pairs are maintained although the pair may separate during the non-breeding period. Nest depressions are generally lined with grasses and feathers or the eggs may be deposited on the bare earth. Usually a single egg is laid although a clutch of two eggs not unknown. Adults alternate in the incubation and caring of the fledgling. Many young are left to fend for themselves long after the adults have departed on their annual migrations, the young miraculously following weeks later. The egg shape varies from long elongations to almost spherical, they are white to off white, often discoloured by soil and waste products, with a general dull appearance, the eggs are unmarked.

Excluded Taxa

Vagrant Species

CAVS:0772
PROCELLARIIDAE: Ardenna creatopus (Coues, 1864) [Pink-footed Shearwater; one Australian record 21 km off Wollongong, NSW in March 1986] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 1994. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Monograph 2. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union iv 112 pp.; Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2004. Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) Edn 7, pp. 382. [285]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [18]

CAVS:0771
PROCELLARIIDAE: Ardenna gravis (O'Reilly, 1818) [Great Shearwater; recorded twice off Robe, SA (Jan.-Feb. 1989); off Portland, Vic. (11 Apr. 1999); off Port Fairy, Vic. (Apr. 2002)] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 1994. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Monograph 2. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union iv 112 pp.; Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2004. Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) Edn 7, pp. 382. [285]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [18]

CAVS:0762
PROCELLARIIDAE: Bulweria fallax Jouanin, 1955 [Jouanin's Petrel; vagrant to Ashmore and Scott Reefs] — Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2004. Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) Edn 7, pp. 382. [285]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [93] (records from near Ashmore and Scott Reefs)

CAVS:8676
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pachyptila salvini macgillivrayi (Mathews, 1912) [Eastern Salvin's Prion; vagrant to WA]

PROCELLARIIDAE: Pelecanoides georgicus whenuahouensis Fischer, Debski, Miskelly, Bost, Fromant, Tennyson, Tessler, Cole, Hiscock, Taylor & Wittmer, 2018 [Possibly vagrant to SE NSW; see Fischer (2018), also Grosser et al. (2021) for treatment as subspecies] — Fischer, J.H., Debski, I., Miskelly, C.M., Bost, C.A., Fromant, A., Tennyson, A.J.D., Tessler, J., Cole, R., Hiscock, J.H., Taylor, G.A. & Wittmer, H.U. 2018. Analyses of phenotypic differentiations among South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) populations reveal an undescribed and highly endangered species from New Zealand. PLoS ONE (Public Library of Science) 13(6): e0197766; Grosser, S., Robertson, F., Shepherd, L.D., Tennyson, A.J.D., Miskelly, C.M., Taylor, G.A. & Robertson, B.C. 2021. Phylogenetic affinities of the Whenua Hou Diving Petrel: implications for conservation. Emu 121(1-2): 102-112

CAVS:0775
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma (Aestrelata) baraui (Jouanin, 1964) [Barau's Petrel; records west of Victoria and of Western Australia] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 1994. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Monograph 2. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union iv 112 pp.; Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2004. Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) Edn 7, pp. 382. [284]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [19, 96]

CAVS:0810
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma (Aestrelata) externa (Salvin, 1875) [Juan Fernandez Petrel; one captured at Cessnock, inland NSW] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 1994. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Monograph 2. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union iv 112 pp.; Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2004. Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) Edn 7, pp. 382. [284]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [96]

CAVS:9956
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma (Aestrelata) occulta Imber & Tennyson, 2001 [Vanuatu Petrel; vagrant to eastern Australian seas] — Imber, M.J. & Tennyson, A.J.D. 2001. A new petrel species (Procellaridae) from the south-west Pacific. The Emu 101: 123-127 [126]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [19, 90, 92, 97]

CAVS:0918
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma (Cookilaria) cookii (G.R. Gray, 1843) [Cook's Petrel] — Anonymous 1969. An Index of Australian Bird Names. Division of WIldlife Research Technical Paper. Canberra : CSIRO Vol. No. 20 pp. 93. [7]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 1994. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Monograph 2. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union iv 112 pp.; Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2004. Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) Edn 7, pp. 382. [38]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [19, 96]

CAVS:0773
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma (Cookilaria) incerta (Schlegel, 1863) [Atlantic Petrel] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [96, 97]

PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma alba (Gmelin, 1758) [observed on Raine Island, east of Cape Grenville, far north QLD]

CAVS:8073
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma brevipes (Peale, 1848) [Collared Petrel; vagrant to Norfolk Island] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [41, 92, 96]

CAVS:8074
PROCELLARIIDAE: Pterodroma longirostris (Stejneger, 1893)

CAVS:0739
PROCELLARIIDAE: Puffinus (Puffinus) newelli Henshaw, 1900 [Newell's Shearwater; vagrant to Norfolk Island] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [18, 95, 96]

CAVS:0914
PROCELLARIIDAE: Puffinus (Puffinus) puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) [Manx Shearwater; one Australian record, beach-washed at Venus Bay, SA (1961)] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 1994. The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Monograph 2. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union iv 112 pp.; Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2004. Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) Edn 7, pp. 382. [285]; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [95, 96]

CAVS:9916
PROCELLARIIDAE: Puffinus (Puffinus) puffinus puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) [Manx Shearwater; vagrant to SA] — Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [95, 96]

CAVS:8072
PROCELLARIIDAE: Puffinus bailloni (Bonaparte, 1857) [Tropical Shearwater]

PROCELLARIIDAE: Puffinus elegans Giglioli & Salvadori, 1869 [Subantarctic Little Shearwater; vagrant off TAS and SW VIC, possibly Macquarie Island] — Tennyson, A.J.D. 2010. Order PROCELLARIIFORMES: Albatrosses, Petrels, Prions and Shearwaters. pp.64-135 in Gill, B.G., Bell, B.D., Chambers, G.K., Medway, D.G., Palma, R.L., Scofield, R.P., Tennyson, A.J.D. & Worthy, T.H. Checklist of the birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica. Wellington : Te Papa Press 4th Edn, 500 pp. [123]

General References

Bourne, W.R.P. 1985. [Section on procellarids]. Petrel in Campbell, B. & Lack, E. (eds). A Dictionary of Birds. Calton : T. & A.D. Poyser xxx 670 pp.

Bretagnolle, V., Attié, C. & Pasquet, E. 1998. Cytochrome-B evidence for validity and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudobulweria and Bulweria (Procellariidae). Auk 115: 188-195

Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp.

Ericson, P.G.P., Anderson, C.L., Britton, T., Elzanowski, A., Johansson, U.S., llersjo, M.K., Ohlson, J.I., Parsons, T.J., Zuccon, D. & Mayr, G. 2006. Diversification of Neoaves: integration of molecular sequence data and fossils. Biol. Lett. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523.

Nunn, G. & Stanley, S. 1998. Body size effects and rates of Cytochrome b evolution in Tube-Nosed Seabirds. Journal of Molecular Biology and Evolution 15: 1360–1371

History of changes