Great Shearwater vs Beck's Petrel

Ardenna gravis compared with Pseudobulweria becki

Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute Great Shearwater Beck's Petrel
Scientific Name Ardenna gravis Pseudobulweria becki
Order Procellariiformes Procellariiformes
Family Procellariidae Procellariidae
Conservation Status Least Concern Critically Endangered
Length
Wingspan 63.6 cm (25.0 in) 47.6 cm (18.7 in)
Weight 832.5 g (29.37 oz) 185.0 g (6.53 oz)
Diet -- --
Clutch Size 1 1
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

None

Great Shearwater only

Beck's Petrel only

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Great Shearwater

Critically Endangered

Beck's Petrel

About These Birds

Great Shearwater

43–51 cm, wingspan 105–122 cm. Large; dark brown above with white underparts, dark cap, and distinctive scaly pattern on upperwing. Breeds Tristan da Cunha, Gough, and Falklands; migrates to North Atlantic. Feeds on fish and squid; spectacular post-breeding migration past UK coasts.

Beck's Petrel

29 cm. Small; dark brown above and on breast; white belly. Critically Endangered; known from only two specimens collected 1928–1929 in the Solomon Islands and Bismarck Sea. No confirmed breeding site. Possibly nests on remote Pacific islands; one of the world's least-known birds.

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