SOUTH AFRICAN SEABIRDS
Only includes species possible on BirdLife SA’s Flock at Sea Again 2017
Likely species
Reasonable chance
Aseasonal: unlikely
Rarities
juv.
dark underwing
(only similar
is juv. greyheaded)
white face
juv.
orange
bill
beware
Kelp Gull at
long range!
Salvin’s
Buller’s
SOOTY ALBATROSSES
wedge-shaped tail; wingspan around 2 m;
white around eyes; typical albatross flight;
genus Phoebetria
all dark
yellow
black cutting
edge on bill
white
face yellow
on top
Indian
Yellow-nosed
Atlantic
Yellow-nosed
broad
yellow
N. Royal
juv.
(both)
white
edge &
tips
dark tip
solid black
white tail
black
soft
grey yellow
on top
white
tail
juv.
Tristan
almost identical
grey
much black
Blackbrowed
faint pink mark
Wandering
blue bill,
yellow tip
ad.
no black line
much
white
yellow
both sides
Shy
black
tip
black tips
Greyheaded
‘ thumbprint ’
entirely
yellow
Chatham
S. Royal
white
patches
beware
Gannet at
long range!
ad.
mask
black line,
dark tip
(like juv.
Wanderer)
Laysan
Amsterdam
GIANT PETRELS
robust scavengers with massive
bills; slow heavy flapping flight
pale face
pale
grey
Peacock
GREAT ALBATROSSES
massive size and wingspan (to 3.6 m);
back and tail white; juveniles brown
MOLLYMAWKS
wingspan like your outstretched arms (1.8-2.5 m); back
and tail black; juvenile as adult except for bill colour
greyish
above
by Faansie
blue
line
Northern
pale
green tip
dark
crown
old
white
shafts
wedge
Sooty
Lightmantled
old
dark
red tip
(no white
morph)
Southern
rare
white
morph
PROCELLARIA PETRELS
Large, relatively slow-flying petrels with wings
held loosely and slightly bent
silvery
grey
White-chinned
pale
white
common!
larger than
other brown
petrels and
shearwaters
Grey
MISC. PETRELS
Small to medium-sized, varied group of seabirds that
shouldn’t cause many ID problems
yellowish
solid grey
underwing
dark
tip
white
head
Southern
Fulmar
Antarctic Petrel
pink bill,
blue nostrils
white
underwing
pale,
gull-like
distinctive
white
panels
white
goggles
beware
distant juv.
Gannet
Spectacled
unmistakable !
Cape (Pintado) Petrel
GADFLY PETRELS
Medium to smallish petrels with short, dark bills. Fly very fast with erratic direction changes and often
dramatically swooping up (‘towering’) high above the sea; wings held angled backwards at the wrist
silvery, with
a faint black
M above
featureless
reflective silvery
highlights
common
pale form
‘ bullneck ‘
Kerguelen
Greatwinged
short,
thick
black
some have
whitish chin
white
belly
patch
Atlantic
Petrel
hooded
band
Softplumaged
rare dark
form
SHEARWATERS
Medium to tiny birds named for their flight: cruising low above the water with stiff,
straight wings. Streamlined (for diving) with relatively thin bills
Fleshfooted
pink bill,
dark tip
rare pale
form
thin, dark
pink
feet
Little
Sooty
pale
face
mainly white
primaries
dark face
short
Subantarctic
these two are tiny
shearwaters that flutter with whirring
wings and then glide low above the water;
recently split. Compare larger Manx
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Whiteheaded
white tail
common
dark form
silver
underwing
white face,
dark mask
Cory’s
(rare Scopoli’s
very similar)
mottled,
brownish
white U
pointed
Wedge-tailed
looks
blackandwhite
darker
primaries
longer
Manx
white
U on
rump
black ‘ oil ‘
patch
yellowish
bill with
dark tip
mottled
white
collar
Great
black cap
dark bill
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dark
underwing
Dark below
White below
pale,
mottled
Blackbellied
white on
underwing
toes
visible
European
Wilson’s
white
almost
wraps
around
rump
‘ split ‘
grey
rump
long
Grey-backed
heavy
build
Arctic /
Parasitic
narrow
arm
heavy
bill
streaky
brown
underwing
beware
distant juv.
Kelp Gull
plainer
black
underwing
contrasting
pale head
wings narrower
broad
arm
black
tip
black M
patch
flight higher
and faster
spoon
border
FLIGHT STYLE
Arctic: falcon-like
Pomarine: gull-like
Long-tailed: tern-like
white
brow
Antarctic Prion
5 prions hard to ID at sea; Antarctic is only common sp.
Sabine’s
grey
non-br.
gradual
transition
GULLS
Sabine’s oceanic;
Kelp ranges up to
100 km offshore
white,
forked
tail
heavy,
2-toned
no white
flashes
Long-tailed
streamers
flight
low and
fluttery
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white flashes
blackish
PRIONS
small, pale, blue-grey with fluttery flight
black
blackish
border
S. Polar
thinner
bill
white flashes
thin; looks dark
points
Pomarine
lighter
build
White-faced
JAEGERS
kleptoparasitic gull-like birds, with fast
flight and pointed wings; ID tricky
juv.
Brown
(Subantarctic)
Blue
Petrel
(gadfly)
white
face;
dark
mask
grey
rump
Leach’s
SKUAS
large, heavyset kleptoparasitic birds;
thick black bills, short tails, white wing
flashes; flight relatively slow; may soar.
black M
white
black line
dark
underwing
forked tail
white
tip
Whitebellied
STORM PETRELS
tiny; bat-like
yellow
tip
tricoloured
wing
flight is tern-like
small,
2-toned
RARITIES
Note: this guide excludes
these exclusively Indian Ocean
species, and extreme rarities:
Streaked Shearwater
Balearic Shearwater
Tropical Shearwater
Barau’s Petrel
Bulwer’s Petrel
Jouanin’s Petrel
Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel
Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel
Band-rumped Storm Petrel
Tropicbirds, Frigatebirds, Boobies
Black-legged Kittiwake
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