Petrels, Shearwaters, and Diving Petrels
Atlantic Petrel
Pterodroma incerta
- Family
- Petrels, Shearwaters, and Diving Petrels (Procellariidae)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
Overview
The Atlantic petrel (Pterodroma incerta) is a gadfly petrel endemic to the South Atlantic Ocean. It breeds in enormous colonies on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island, and ranges at sea from Brazil to Namibia, with most records at sea being to the west of the breeding islands, and along the subtropical convergence. Adults are about 43 cm long, powerful, large, stocky, dark in color with white belly. Their head can appear to be grey in worn plumage.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds Gough and (at least formerly) Tristan da Cunha; ranges to deep offshore waters of southern Brazil to Argentina, and southwestern Africa.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Continents
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Atlantic petrel
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
