Bulwer's Petrel
Bulweria bulwerii
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderProcellariiformes (Tubenoses)
- FamilyProcellariidae (Shearwaters and Petrels)
- GenusBulweria (Bulwer's and Jouanin's Petrels)
- SpeciesBulweria bulwerii (Bulwer's Petrel)
About the Bulwer's Petrel
Bulwer's petrel (Bulweria bulwerii) is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae that is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is named after the English naturalist James Bulwer.
Bulwer's petrel was formally described in 1828 by the naturalists Jardine and Selby who coined the binomial name Procellaria bulwerii. The specific epithet was chosen to acknowledge the artist and naturalist James Bulwer who had collected the type specimen on the island of Madeira. Bulwer's petrel is now placed in the genus Bulweria that was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
This very long-winged petrel is 25–29 cm (9.8–11.4 in) in length with a 78–90 cm (31–35 in) wingspan. It has mainly brown plumage and a long pointed tail. It has a buoyant twisting flight as it picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface.
The species has a wide distribution through tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, it is a year-round resident in Cabo Verde, China, French Guiana, Indonesia... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Raja Ampat
Streaked Shearwater
Calonectris leucomelas
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Puffinus pacificus
Tahiti Petrel
Pseudobulweria rostrata
Beck's Petrel
Pseudobulweria becki
Matsudaira's Storm Petrel
Oceanodroma matsudairae
Wilson's Storm Petrel
Oceanites oceanicus
Swinhoe' Storm-petrel
Oceanodroma monorhis
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
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Bulwer's Petrel in Raja Ampat?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bulwer's Petrel sighting in Raja Ampat, based on 122 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Bulwer's Petrel in Raja Ampat?
September has the highest sighting rate for Bulwer's Petrel in Raja Ampat in our monthly data.