Common Diving-Petrel
Pelecanoides urinatrix
Silhouette: Louis Ranjard · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderProcellariiformes (Tubenoses)
- FamilyPelecanoididae
- GenusPelecanoides (Diving Petrels)
- SpeciesPelecanoides urinatrix (Common Diving-Petrel)
About the Common Diving-Petrel
The common diving petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlantic islands and islands of the subantarctic southern Indian Ocean, islands and islets off New Zealand and south-eastern Australian islands.
The common diving petrel was formally described in 1777 by the German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster. He placed it with the other petrels in the genus Procellaria and coined the binomial name Procellaria tridactyla. Gmelin based his description on the "diving petrel" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in the second volume of his A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham reported that they were found in great numbers in Queen Charlotte Sound at the northern end of South Island, New Zealand. The common diving petrel is now one of four petrels placed in the genus Pelecanoides that was introduced in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède. The genus name, Pelecanoides, means "Pelican-resembling", which was assigned to the diving petrels on account... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Common Diving-Petrel in Fiordland National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Fiordland National Park
Sooty Shearwater
Puffinus griseus
Shy Mollymawk
Thalassarche cauta
Buller's Mollymawk
Thalassarche bulleri
Light-mantled Albatross
Phoebetria palpebrata
Southern Fulmar
Fulmarus glacialoides
Short-tailed Shearwater
Puffinus tenuirostris
Royal Albatross
Diomedea epomophora
Buller's Shearwater
Puffinus bulleri
Mottled Petrel
Pterodroma inexpectata
Cook's Petrel
Pterodroma cookii
White-chinned Petrel
Procellaria aequinoctialis
Northern Giant Petrel
Macronectes halli
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Common Diving-Petrel in Fiordland National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Diving-Petrel sighting in Fiordland National Park, based on 52 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Common Diving-Petrel in Fiordland National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Common Diving-Petrel in Fiordland National Park in our monthly data.