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Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute	Soft-plumaged Petrel	Balearic Shearwater
Scientific Name	Pterodroma mollis	Puffinus mauretanicus
Order	Procellariiformes	Procellariiformes
Family	Procellariidae	Procellariidae
Conservation Status	Least Concern	Critically Endangered
Length	—	—
Wingspan	48.6 cm (19.1 in)	48.4 cm (19.1 in)
Weight	315.0 g (11.11 oz)	514.8 g (18.16 oz)
Diet	--	--
Clutch Size	1	1
Population Trend	—	—

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Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

🏖️ Coastal

Soft-plumaged Petrel only

None

Balearic Shearwater only

None

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Conservation Status

Least Concern

Soft-plumaged Petrel

Critically Endangered

Balearic Shearwater

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About These Birds

Soft-plumaged Petrel

32–37 cm, wingspan 83–95 cm. Grey above; white below with a distinctive dark partial breast-band and dark-streaked face. Breeds Tristan, Gough, and southern Indian Ocean islands. Ranges widely in Southern Ocean. Feeds on fish and squid; arcs steeply in strong winds.

Balearic Shearwater

30–38 cm. Brown above; variably dirty-white to brown below; often shows brown smudging on flanks. Breeds only Balearic Islands, Spain. Critically Endangered with fewer than 3,000 pairs; faces extinction. Migrates to NE Atlantic; threatened by predators, fishing bycatch, and tourist development.

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More Birds to Explore

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Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica Antarctic Prion Pachyptila desolata Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri All Procellariidae birds →

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