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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Procellariidae
  4. ›
  5. Ardenna
  6. ›
  7. Sooty Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Photo · (c) Jon Sullivan, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Sooty Shearwater

Ardenna grisea(Gmelin, JF, 1789)

Updated 21 March 2026

Also known asTītī

Conservation status: Near ThreatenedOrigin: Native
Order
PROCELLARIIFORMES
Family
Procellariidae
Genus
Ardenna

At a glance

The Sooty Shearwater, listed as Near Threatened and native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Conservation status
Near Threatened
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The sooty shearwater 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 and the Australian short-tailed shearwater.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Wingspan
94 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Sooty Shearwater?

The Sooty Shearwater is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

5 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Sooty Shearwater live in Australia?

The Sooty Shearwater is native to Australia, recorded across 25 of Australia’s bioregions, with a core range spanning worldwide.

BreedingWorldwide : south temperate and subantarctic islands from south Chile and Falklands to south Australia and Tasmania, Macquarie (far south-east of Australia) and outlying islands of New Zealand

Non-breedingNorth to North Atlantic to Greenland and north-west Europe, and north Pacific to Gulf of Alaska and west USA

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Resident
  • Breeding
  • Non-breeding
  • Vagrant

8 regions recorded