Sooty Shearwater
Puffinus griseus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderProcellariiformes (Tubenoses)
- FamilyProcellariidae (Shearwaters and Petrels)
- GenusPuffinus (Small Shearwaters)
- SpeciesPuffinus griseus (Sooty Shearwater)
The sooty shearwater (Ardenna grisea) is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name tītī, and is harvested by Māori people for muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (A. pacificus) and the Australian short-tailed shearwater (A. tenuirostris). Wikipedia →
10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Shearwater sighting in Rakiura National Park, based on 187 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Rakiura National Park
Buller's Shearwater
Puffinus bulleri
Short-tailed Shearwater
Puffinus tenuirostris
Fluttering Shearwater
Puffinus gavia
Antarctic Petrel
Thalassoica antarctica
Cape Petrel
Daption capense
Northern Giant Petrel
Macronectes halli
Mottled Petrel
Pterodroma inexpectata
Cook's Petrel
Pterodroma cookii
Fairy Prion
Pachyptila turtur
White-chinned Petrel
Procellaria aequinoctialis
Broad-billed Prion
Pachyptila vittata
Westland Petrel
Procellaria westlandica
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Sooty Shearwater in Rakiura National Park?
About 13% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Shearwater sighting in Rakiura National Park, based on 187 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Sooty Shearwater in Rakiura National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Sooty Shearwater in Rakiura National Park in our monthly data.