THE PELAGIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE SOOTY SHEARWATERPROCELLARIA GRISEA

Abstract

Summary.The breeding distribution of the Sooty Shearwater and the dates of its breeding season are briefly reviewed.Records from the Southern Ocean are summarised. It is concluded that they are accounted for by non‐breeding birds feeding off the ice‐edge in the Australian sector of the Antarctic during the latter part of the breeding season.The great majority of Sooty Shearwaters spend the southern winter in the Pacific Ocean. Birds from the New Zealand colonies are probably mostly found on the feeding grounds off Japan: some may make a “circular” migration around the Pacific. Birds from the Cape Horn colonies spend the southern winter in the rich areas off the western coast of North America.Some Sooty Shearwaters spend the southern winter off the South African coasts. A number of non‐breeding birds remain there throughout the summer.The Sooty Shearwaters “wintering” in the North Atlantic are probably numbered in tens of thousands only. The distribution of records is reviewed month by month and the records from Atlantic transects are summarised. The migrations in the North Atlantic are discussed in relation to prevailing meteorological and oceanographic conditions, and food supply. It is concluded that most Sooty Shearwaters in the North Atlantic make a “circular” migration, crossing the North Atlantic from west to east in June and July, and re‐crossing about September further south in the northeast trades.