Scientific name: Puffinus griseus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Bird group: Shearwaters and Petrels
Field characters. Length 40-51 cm; wingspan 94-109 cm. Large sooty-brown Shearwater with cigar-shaped body and narrow wings. All dark but with conspicuous pale buffish to silvery grey-white wing linings. Relatively small head with long black bill. May be confused with Balearic Shearwater in bad weather conditions, but Sooty Shearwater is larger with much longer wings.
Voice. Usually silent.
Distribution. Breeds in southern sub-Antarctic; spends southern winter in N Atlantic and N Pacific.
Habitat. Cold pelagic waters.
Food. Cephalopods, crustaceans and fish.
Eggs. Size 76 x 50 mm (60-85 x 44-54), weight 97 g.