Sooty Shearwater

Puffinus griseus

Silhouette: Juan Carlos Jerí · PhyloPic

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderProcellariiformes (Tubenoses)
FamilyProcellariidae (Shearwaters and Petrels)
GenusPuffinus (Small Shearwaters)
SpeciesPuffinus griseus (Sooty Shearwater)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Garden Route National Park

6 Verified sightings at Garden Route National Park From 2019 to 2026

2,086 Verified sightings across all 32 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the 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).

The sooty shearwater was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the binomial name Procellaria grisea. The shearwater had been briefly described in 1777 by James Cook in the account of his second voyage to the Pacific, but without a valid scientific name; and also in 1785 the English ornithologist John Latham had described a museum specimen, again without giving it a scientific name. The sooty shearwater is now placed in the genus Ardenna, that was described in 1853 by Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name Ardenna was used to refer to a seabird by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1603, and the specific epithet grisea is medieval Latin for "grey". The species is considered to be monotypic; no subspecies are recognised.

It appears to be particularly closely related to the great shearwater (A. gravis... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Garden Route National Park

Puffinus gravis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Pterodroma mollis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Calonectris diomedea

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Fulmarus glacialoides

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Macronectes giganteus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Procellaria aequinoctialis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Macronectes halli

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Thalassarche cauta

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Thalassarche carteri

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Thalassarche melanophris

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Hydrobates pelagicus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

See all 11 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Kenai Fjords National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~20%
2	Rakiura National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	~10%
3	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~10%
4	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	~10%
5	Península Valdés	🇦🇷 Argentina	~10%
6	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	<5%
7	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
8	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
9	Namib-Naukluft National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	<5%
10	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
11	Paracas National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
12	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
13	Tierra del Fuego National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	<5%
14	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
15	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
16	Wadden Sea National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	<5%
17	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
18	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
19	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
20	Katmai National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
21	Cabo Pulmo National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
22	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
23	Freycinet National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data
24	Addo Elephant National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
25	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
26	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
27	Abel Tasman National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	Insufficient data
28	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
29	Vatnajokull National Park	🇮🇸 Iceland	Insufficient data
30	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
31	Cairngorms National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Insufficient data
32	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	Insufficient data

← Back to Garden Route National Park

Sooty Shearwater

About the Sooty Shearwater

Recent sightings of Sooty Shearwater in Garden Route National Park

Closest Relatives at Garden Route National Park

Great Shearwater

Soft-plumaged Petrel

Scopoli's Shearwater

Southern Fulmar

Southern Giant Petrel

White-chinned Petrel

Northern Giant Petrel

Shy Mollymawk

Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross

Black-browed Albatross

European Storm Petrel

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found