Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Photo: Glenn Bartley/Vireo
Sooty Shearwater
Ardenna grisea
| Conservation status | Abundant, with total population recently estimated at about 20 million, but numbers are declining in many areas. Has disappeared from some former nesting islands because of habitat degradation. In southern New Zealand, some young are taken annually for food and oil by Maori people, but this controlled harvest has little or no impact on total population. In recent years, off parts of North American west coast, numbers of visiting Sooty Shearwaters have declined significantly; this may be related to a general rise in sea surface temperatures there. |
|---|---|
| Family | Shearwaters and Petrels |
| Habitat | Open ocean. Widespread at sea, but concentrates around upwellings and over continental shelf in cooler waters, also where cold and warm water masses meet. May come close to shore if water is deep. Breeds on islands in southern oceans with soil for burrows or with suitable rock crevices for nest sites. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Forages by plunging into water from a few feet above the surface and swimming underwater, propelled by wings; also dives from surface, and seizes items at or just below surface while sitting on water. Sometimes feeds in association with whales, dolphins, and other seabirds.
Eggs
One. White. Incubation is by both sexes, averages 52-56 days. Young: Both parents feed young, visiting at night, feeding frequently when chick is small and less often as it matures. Finally young bird is abandoned, and it eventually leaves to go to sea. Period from hatching to departure from nest averages about 97 days. Young usually departs from island at night.
Young
Both parents feed young, visiting at night, feeding frequently when chick is small and less often as it matures. Finally young bird is abandoned, and it eventually leaves to go to sea. Period from hatching to departure from nest averages about 97 days. Young usually departs from island at night.
Diet
Mostly fish, crustaceans. Diet in North Pacific mainly small fish, also euphausiid shrimp and other crustaceans, squid, jellyfish. In North Atlantic may feed mostly on euphausiid shrimp and fish.
Nesting
In Australia and New Zealand, nesting season is September to May. First breeding at age of 5-9 years. Breeds in colonies on islands, with most activity in evening and at night. In courtship, pairs may call in duet. Nest: Site is in burrow dug in soil, sometimes in natural crevice in rock. Burrow may be up to 10 feet long. Nest is loose foundation of leaves and grass.
Download Our Bird Guide App
- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
Silent at sea; a variety of cooing and croaking notes on breeding grounds.Sooty Shearwater In the News More News
Podcast
The Great Seabird Migration Has Begun
Far out over the ocean, millions upon millions of seabirds are heading south for the winter.
Audubon In Action
A West Coast Win for Small Fish—and Seabirds, Too
A landmark ruling protects vital fish species from commercial fishing off the U.S. Pacific Coast, and secures the future of seabirds in the process.
Sooty Shearwater Across Audubon
Saving Seabirds
Audubon takes effective action to stabilize and increase populations of at-risk species up and down the Pacific Coast
Lights Out Chicago and Minneapolis
Migrating birds face a wide range of manmade threats. One of the most deadly is collisions with tall buildings, which cause millions of fatalities each spring and fall.
