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Heard Island and McDonald Islands bird checklist

42 bird species in 8 families have been recorded in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, according to eBird; about 40 of them are seen regularly, and the rest are rarities, vagrants and escaped or introduced birds. Download the full list as a PDF, or tick birds off on your phone, with counts and notes, even without signal.

Species data: eBird.org, updated · How these lists are made

Common birds in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands

  1. 1King Penguin
  2. 2Antarctic Prion
  3. 3Macaroni Penguin
  4. 4Gentoo Penguin
  5. 5Pintado Petrel
  6. 6Southern Giant-Petrel
  7. 7Brown Skua
  8. 8Wilson's Storm-Petrel
  9. 9Light-mantled Albatross
  10. 10Kelp Gull
The top 20, and how they are ranked

Heard Island and McDonald Islands bird checklist

42 species · loading the checklist tools…

Sheathbills

  • Black-faced Sheathbill

Skuas and Jaegers

  • Brown Skua
  • South Polar Skua

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

  • Kelp Gull
  • Antarctic Tern

Penguins

  • King Penguin
  • Gentoo Penguin
  • Chinstrap Penguin
  • Macaroni Penguin
  • Eastern Rockhopper Penguin

Albatrosses

  • Southern Royal Albatross
  • Snowy Albatross
  • Antipodean Albatross
  • Amsterdam Albatross
  • Sooty Albatross
  • Light-mantled Albatross
  • Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
  • Gray-headed Albatross
  • Black-browed Albatross

Southern Storm-Petrels

  • Wilson's Storm-Petrel
  • Gray-backed Storm-Petrel
  • Black-bellied Storm-Petrel

Shearwaters and Petrels

  • Southern Giant-Petrel
  • Northern Giant-Petrel
  • Southern Fulmar
  • Antarctic Petrel
  • Pintado Petrel
  • Kerguelen Petrel
  • Great-winged Petrel
  • Soft-plumaged Petrel
  • White-headed Petrel
  • Mottled Petrel
  • Blue Petrel
  • Broad-billed Prion
  • Antarctic Prion
  • Slender-billed Prion
  • Fulmar Prion
  • Gray Petrel
  • White-chinned Petrel
  • Common Diving-Petrel
  • South Georgia Diving-Petrel

Cormorants and Shags

  • Imperial Cormorant

Most common birds in Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Heard Island and McDonald Islands’s regular birds, ranked by how widespread they are. Recent sightings for Heard Island and McDonald Islands aren’t in our data yet.

  1. King PenguinAptenodytes patagonicus
  2. Antarctic PrionPachyptila desolata
  3. Macaroni PenguinEudyptes chrysolophus
  4. Gentoo PenguinPygoscelis papua
  5. Pintado PetrelDaption capense
  6. Southern Giant-PetrelMacronectes giganteus
  7. Brown SkuaStercorarius antarcticus
  8. Wilson's Storm-PetrelOceanites oceanicus
  9. Light-mantled AlbatrossPhoebetria palpebrata
  10. Kelp GullLarus dominicanus
  11. Southern FulmarFulmarus glacialoides
  12. Black-browed AlbatrossThalassarche melanophris
  13. Fulmar PrionPachyptila crassirostris
  14. White-chinned PetrelProcellaria aequinoctialis
  15. Snowy AlbatrossDiomedea exulans
  16. Antarctic TernSterna vittata
  17. Black-faced SheathbillChionis minor
  18. South Polar SkuaStercorarius maccormicki
  19. Northern Giant-PetrelMacronectes halli
  20. Southern Royal AlbatrossDiomedea epomophora

Largest bird families in Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Among its regular birds.

  • Shearwaters and Petrels19
  • Albatrosses9
  • Penguins4
  • Southern Storm-Petrels3
  • Skuas and Jaegers2
  • Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers2
  • Sheathbills1

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