Cape Petrel vs Northern Fulmar
Daption capense compared with Fulmarus glacialis
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Cape Petrel | Northern Fulmar |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Daption capense | Fulmarus glacialis |
| Order | Procellariiformes | Procellariiformes |
| Family | Procellariidae | Procellariidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | 47.0 cm (18.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 50.0 cm (19.7 in) | 107.0 cm (42.1 in) |
| Weight | 444.6666666666667 g (15.69 oz) | 750.0 g (26.46 oz) |
| Diet | -- | Fish, squid, crustaceans, offal from fishing vessels, and zooplankton. Feeds by surface-seizing and shallow plunge-diving. |
| Clutch Size | 1 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Cape Petrel
Northern Fulmar
A nasal, cackling 'kak-kak-kak-kak' or grunting 'uh-uh-uh' at the nest and colony. Less melodic than petrels. In flight gives occasional single nasal calls.
Geographic Range & Migration
Cape Petrel
Northern Fulmar
North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Breeds from the Arctic south to Britain, France, and New England.
Conservation Status
Cape Petrel
Northern Fulmar
How to Tell Them Apart
Cape Petrel
Northern Fulmar
Light morph: white head and underparts with grey wings and back. Dark morph: entirely grey. Tube-nosed bill and stiff-winged flight distinctive at sea.
Yellowish hooked bill with prominent tubular nostrils on top
About These Birds
Cape Petrel
38–40 cm, wingspan 81–91 cm. Unmistakable chequered black-and-white plumage with two white wing patches. Abundant in the Southern Ocean; breeds on Antarctic and subantarctic cliff ledges. Follows ships avidly; feeds on krill, fish, and offal. One of the most commonly seen Antarctic seabirds.
Northern Fulmar
The northern fulmar is a long-lived seabird that can survive over 40 years. It defends its nest by projectile-vomiting a foul-smelling stomach oil at intruders, which can mat the feathers of predators and cause fatal loss of waterproofing. Fulmars have expanded their breeding range dramatically southward over the past two centuries.