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12. White-Chinned Petrel
(Procellaria aequinoctialis)
Plate 7

Field Characters: 136/56. A large blackish-brown petrel with a conspicuous pale yellow bill. The white chin patch is difficult to detect in the field and can be absent in some individuals. Tail short and wedge shaped; feet black.

Flight pattern is smooth and powerful with much soaring. The wingbeats are measured and slow. Regularly seen either singly or in small groups in subantarctic waters. Ranges northwards to subtropical waters in winter. May attend ships for short periods but does not follow them. Will alight near stationary vessels if offal is thrown overboard.

A circumpolar, typically subantarctic species. Locally breeds in summer at the Antipodes, Auckland and Campbell Islands.