Common Name: Grey-faced Petrel
Distribution: Individuals range over the subtropical southwest Pacific Ocean, including Australia. It is generally observed between 25 and 50o S. Vagrants may occasionally enter Antarctic waters.
Ecological Notes: Grey-faced petrels are generalist feeders, primarily targeting squid, but also crustaceans and fish. Smaller squid are captured alive on the surface, but larger squid are probably scavenged. This species has been observed capturing prey at night. It is postulated that the bioluminescent characteristic of their prey provide a visual cue when hunting. It frequently alights at sea during the day presumably to take prey. Mainly feeds in the top 5 m of the water column but is capable of occasional deeper dives down to 20 m.
Additional Notes: This species is an all dark oceanic seabird with a short but powerful deeply hooked beak. At sea, it is graceful and fast with a high soaring powerful flight on long narrow wings. Small breeding colonies are scattered around the coasts of the upper North Island of New Zealand, mainly on headlands and peninsulas adjacent to the sea, and it’s offshore islands. During the summer moult period it disperses widely across the Tasman Sea to the coast of Australia.
References: Wikipedia. “Grey-faced petrel.” Last edited 20 November 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey-faced_petrel
New Zealand Birds Online at https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/grey-faced-petrel Accessed 6 February 2022.