South Georgia Diving-Petrel Pelecanoides georgicus

A very small, chunky petrel. Note the short broad wings and the pale white throat and underside. Look for whitish rump patches and gray feathering behind the eyes. Breeds on islands in the circumpolar subantarctic zone. Most populations nest on rocky slopes or flat land, but the population on Codfish Island, New Zealand, nests in burrows within unstable sand dunes no more than 100 meters from the sea; this population is sometimes split as a different species. Difficult to distinguish from Common Diving-Petrel at sea due to subtlety of plumage differences.