Family FREGATIDAE:

Fregata magnificens   MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD.  Pelagic, breeding on islands.  Tropical is. and coastal islets of e Pacific off Baja Calif. (Santa Margarita I.), San Benedicto I. in the Revillgigedo Is., Nayarit (Isabel and Tres Marietas is.), Oaxaca (Natartiac I.), Honduras (I. Pájaro in Gulf of Fonseca), Costa Rica (I. Bolanos), Panama (many islets in Gulf of Chiriquí and Bay of Panama), Colombia, Ecuador and Galapagos Is.; Atlantic-Caribbean region in Florida (Marquesas Key), c coast of Texas, and coast of Veracruz, off Yucatán Pen. and Belize (Man-of-war Cay), Bahamas, Antilles (e to Barbuda in n Lesser Antailles), Cayman (Little Cayman) and Swan (Little Swan) is., is. n of Venezuela (from Los Hermanos and Margarita e to Tobago), s Lesser Antilles (Grenadines), and locally S. American coast to s Brazil (incl. Fernando de Noronha); Cape Verde Is.  Ranges widely at sea in Pacific from s Alaska to n Peru, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea; w Atlantic from Nova Scotia s to n Argentina and Cape Verde Is.

Fregata aquila   ASCENSION FRIGATEBIRD.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on rocky ground and ledges.  Ascension I.  Ranges at sea to w African coast.
Fregata minor   GREAT FRIGATEBIRD.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in trees.  Pacific O. in Revillagigedo Is. (San Benedito, Clarión), Cocos Is. (off Costa Rica), Galapagos Is.; widely from Hawaiian Is. (from Kure e to Nihoa; Moku Manu islet off Oahu) and S. China Sea s to ne Australia (Raine I.), Fiji, Tuamotu and Sala-y-Gómez; s Atlantic off e Brazil (Trindade, Martin Vaz Rocks); Indian O. from Aldabra Is. and Seychelles e to Christmas I.; Indonesia (incl. Gunungapi in Lesser Sunda Is., and Manuk in Banda Sea).  Ranges near breeding grounds in Atlantic and Indian oceans, and widely in w,c,sw Pacific n to Japan and s to se Australia and New Zealand, rarely to s Africa.

Fregata ariel   LESSER FRIGATEBIRD.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in bushes.
Tropical is. of s Pacific O. off n Australia from nw W. Australia (w to Bedout and Lacepede is.) e to ne Queensland (Raine I.), Nuguria Is., New Caledonia, and from Howland and Line is. and Marquesas s to Fiji, Tonga, Society is. and Tuamotu; s Atlantic O. on Trindade and Martin Vaz Rocks; w Indian O. in Aldabra and Comoro (Mohéli) is.  Ranges widely in Pacific n to Indonesia, S. China Sea, Japan, Kamchatka and (rarely) w Hawaiian Is., and in Indian O. to Mascarene Is.
Fregata andrewsi   CHRISTMAS ISLAND FRIGATEBIRD.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in tall trees.  Christmas I. (e Indian O.).  Ranges from e Indian O. to S. China Sea and n Australia.

Family SPHENISCIDAE:

Aptenodytes patagonicus   KING PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding in tussock grass thickets.  S Chile on Horn I. and s Argentina on Staten I.; islands in s oceans:  Macquarie, Falkland, S. Georgia, Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen and Heard.  Ranges n to Australia, New Zealand, s S. America and (questionably) S. Africa, and s to Antarctic coast.
Aptenodytes forsteri   EMPEROR PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on ice and islets.  Coastal Antarctica between lat. 66°S and 78°S.  Ranges n to New Zealand, s S. America, and Falkland, S. Georgia, S. Orkney, Kerguelen and Heard islands.
Pygoscelis papua   GENTOO PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding in tussock grass thickets, and on bare hillsides and beaches.  Staten I. in s Argentina; islands in s oceans: Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie,Falklands, S. Georgia, S. Orkney and S. Shetland, and Antarctic Pen. (s to about lat. 65°S.).  Ranges n to Tasmania, Campbell Is. and New Zealand.

Pygoscelis adeliae   ADELIE PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on rocky outcrops.  Coastal Antarctica (incl. Antarctic Pen. and Enderby Land); is. in s oceans on S. Shetland, S. Orkney, Bouvet, Balleny, Scott and Peter I is.  Ranges n to New Zealand and Falkland, S. Georgia, Kerguelen, Heard and Macquarie is.
Pygoscelis antarctica   CHINSTRAP PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on rough, boulder-strewn slopes.  Is. in s oceans on S. Sandwich, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, S. Georgia, Bouvet, Balleny and Peter I; Antarctic Pen. (s to about lat. 65°S.).  Ranges n to Tasmania and Falkland, Crozet, Kerguelen and Macquarie is., and s to Antartic coasts.

Beintema (1991. Nature 352:480-481) observed Chinstrap Penguins vomiting their stomach linings.  The colony was strewn with shed linings and penguins were often seen regurgitating on the way to the sea to feed.  Birds with chicks of all ages, and non-breeders, regurgitated throughout the chick-rearing season.  The possibility of fluoride poisoning from the high intake of krill was considered and analyses of Chinstrap stomach walls showed the highest level of fluroide ever found in soft tissue.  In Adelie Penguin stomach walls, which are not regurgitated, the fluoride levels were only slightly raised.  However, daily shedding of the stomach lining would remove only an insignificant part of the daily intake of fluoride.  This regurgitation, so far, is known only for the Chinstrap Penguin and the frequency of shedding is unknown.

Eudyptes chrysocome   ROCKHOPPER PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on tumbling scree slopes.

E. c. chrysocome  S S. America (Tierra del Fuego, Ildefonso, Diego Ramírez); is. in s oceans on Macquarie, Auckland, Campbell, Bounty, Antipodes, Falkland, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen and Heard is.  Ranges n to s coasts of S. America, S. Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
 E. c. moseleyi  Tristan da Cunha (incl. Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough is.); Amsterdam and St. Paul is.
 A hybrid specimen E. chrysocome x E. schlegeli (as well as a mixed pair) has been reported from Macquarie Island.

Eudyptes pachyrhynchus   FIORDLAND PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding in coastal rainforest.  S New Zealand on s,sw South I., Stewart I. and neighboring islets (incl. Solander and Codfish is.).  Ranges to w,s Australia, Tasmania and Falkland Is.
Eudyptes robustus   SNARES PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding in forest.  Snares Is.  Ranges to S. Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Macquarie I., and Antipodes Is.
Eudyptes sclateri   ERECT-CRESTED PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on bare, exposed rocks, tussock-clad beaches, and cliffs.  Is. in New Zealand region on Auckland, Campbell, Bounty and Antipodes is.; attempted breeding on Otago Pen., South I., New Zealand.  Ranges to s Australia, Tasmania, and Snares, Macquarie and Falkland is.

Eudyptes chrysolophus   MACARONI PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on exposed, often rocky, tussock-covered ground.  Is. of s oceans (Falkland, S. Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, Bouvet, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen and Heard); Antarctica (outer Pen.); s Chile (I. Desolación, I. Diego Ramírez).  Ranges n to is. off New Zealand, s S. America, Tristan da Cunha, and S. Africa.  See E. schlegeli.
Eudyptes schlegeli   ROYAL PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on exposed, often rocky, tussock-covered ground.  Macquarie I.  Sometimes regarded as a subspecies or as a morph of E. chrysolophus but now generally treated as a separate species.

Megadyptes antipodes   YELLOW-EYED PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding in tussock grass thickets and coastal forest.  New Zealand region in s New Zealand (e,s coasts of South I. n to Banks Pen.), Stewart, Auckland and Campbell is.  Ranges n to Cook Strait.
Eudyptula minor   LITTLE PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on dunes and vegetated slopes.

E. m. albosignata is sometimes considered a distinct species because of proximity of breeding colonies on South Island, New Zealand with reported lack of intergradation, but the conspecificity of the two groups has been confirmed.
E. m. minor  Coasts and offshore is. in s Australia from Perth in sw W. Australia e to Newcastle in New S. Wales, Tasmania; New Zealand (except ce coast of South I. between Motunau I. and Banks Pen.), Stewart I., and Chatham Is.
 E. m. albosignata  S New Zealand on ce South I. on Banks Pen., probably n to Motunau I. area.

Spheniscus demersus   JACKASS PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on rocky ground with little or no vegetation.  Is. off coast of s Africa from cw Namibia (Walvis Bay) s to S. Africa, and ne to s Mozambique (Inhaca I.).  Ranges n to Angola and c Mozambique.
Spheniscus humboldti   HUMBOLDT PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding in caverns and burrows.  Coastal S. America from n Peru (n to Lambayeque) s to c Chile (Santiago), incl. coastal is.  Ranges s to s Chile (to lat. 40°S.).
Spheniscus magellanicus   MAGELLANIC PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding on open beach, sandhills and grassy slopes, and in forest.  Coastal s S. America from c Chile (n to Aconcagua) and s Argentina (n to ce Chubut) s to Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn; Falkland Is.; Juan Fernández Is.  Ranges n to n Chile and e Brazil.

Spheniscus mendiculus   GALAPAGOS PENGUIN.  Pelagic, breeding in caves and caverns close to sea level.  Galapagos Is., breeding on Fernandina and Isabela.

Family GAVIIDAE:

Gavia stellata   RED-THROATED LOON.  Shallow ponds and lakes.  N Eurasia from Iceland, Faroe Is., n British Isles and Scandinavia e across Arctic is. (Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, and Kolguyev, Vaygach, New Siberian and Wrangel is.), n Russia and n Siberia to Chukotski Pen., Kamchatka and Commander Is., and s to L. Baikal, Amurland and Kuril Is.; n N. America on Arctic coasts and is. from Alaska to Greenland, and s along Pacific coast to Aleutian, Queen Charlotte and (formerly) Vancouver is., int. to c Yukon, s Mackenzie, n Saskatchewan, n Manitoba, James Bay and (formerly) n shore of L. Superior, and Atlantic coast to se Quebec (incl. Anticosti I.), Miquelon I. and n Newfoundland (Bell I.).  Winters mainly on coasts s to n Baja Calif., Florida, Mediterranean, Black and Caspian seas, and se China, Taiwan and Japan.

Gavia arctica   ARCTIC LOON.  Deep lakes.  The two races sometimes are regarded as separate species, but they intergrade in eastern Asia.

G. a. arctica  Eurasian Arctic from n Scotland and Scandinavia e across Arctic is. (Kolguyev, Vaygach, s Novaya Zemlya), n Russia and n Siberia to Lena R., and s to n Kazakhstan, L. Balkhash and s Siberia (from Altai e to L. Baikal).  Winters s to Mediterranean, Black, Caspian and Aral seas.
G. a. viridigularis  E Asia in e Siberia (e of Lena R. and L. Baikal, but not in Arctic e of Indigirka R.) e to Chukotski Pen., and s to w Mongolia, Transbaicalia, Amurland, Sakhalin, Kamchatka and (probably) n Manchuria; w Alaska in the Cape Prince of Wales region.  Winters s to se China, Japan and s Alaska.

Gavia pacifica   PACIFIC LOON.  Deep lakes.  Arctic coast of e Siberia w to Indigirka R.
and S to Anadyrland; n N. America from Arctic coast of Alaska and Canada, and Banks, Prince of Wales, Victoria and n Baffin is. s to St. Lawrence I., s Alaska (Alaska Pen., Kodiak I.), sw Yukon, s Mackenzie, ne Alberta, n Manitoba, nw Ontario, Belcher Is. and nw Quebec.
Winters s to e China, Japan, coastal sw U.S. and s Baja Calif.  Usually recognized as conspecific with G. arctica, but G. pacifica is widely sympatric with the latter in eastern Siberia, sometimes pairs of both breeding on the same lake.  Some intermediate individuals have been reported, but status uncertain.
Gavia immer   COMMON LOON.  Lakes, ponds, rivers.  W Palearctic in Greenland (both coasts), Iceland, Scotland and (probably) Bear I.; N. America from w,c Alaska (Seward Pen., w Aleutian Is., Brooks Range), n Yukon, nw,s Mackenzie, c Keewatin, n Manitoba, n Ontario, s Baffin I., Labrador and Newfoundland s to n Calif. (at least formerly), Nevada, nw Montana, nw Wyoming, N. Dakota, n Iowa, n Illinois, n Indiana, n Ohio, n Pennsylvania, n New York, s New England and Nova Scotia.  Winters s to nw Africa, Mediterranean and Black seas, n Mexico and s U.S.

Gavia adamsii   YELLOW-BILLED LOON.  Tundra lakes.  N Eurasia along Arctic coasts and is. of n Russia and n Siberia from Kola Pen., Kolguyev I. and s Novaya Zemlya e to Chukotski Pen.; n N. America from w,n Alaska (s to St. Lawrence I. and s Seward Pen.) e to Banks, Victoria and Prince of Wales is. and n Keewatin, and s to ec Mackenzie and ec Keewatin.  Winters w to Greenland, and s to c Europe, China, Japan and n Baja Calif.

Family PROCELLARIIDAE:
Nunn (1994. J. für Orn. 135: Sonderheft p. 34) compared the complete mtDNA cytochrome b sequences of 1143 bp from 50 species representing all groups of the tubenoses.
He proposed that the albatrosses are the oldest group followed by the petrels and allies and the storm-petrels.
The gadfly petrels (Pterodroma) share a common origin with the shearwaters and these are the sister group of the fulmarines, which includes Halobaena caerulea and Pachyptila.
The Kerguelen Petrel (Lugensa brevirostris) is also a member of the fulmarine group.

Subfamily PROCELLARIINAE:

Macronectes giganteus   ANTARCTIC GIANT-PETREL or SOUTHERN GIANT-PETREL. Pelagic, breeding on islands on open coastal plateaus and headlands.  Is. of s oceans (Falkland, S. Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, Bouvet, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard and Macquarie is.); s Chile (I. Noir, Diego Ramírez); coast of Antarctica (Antarctic Pen., Adelie Coast, Windmill Is., Enderby Land).  Ranges at sea widely in oceans s of Equator, rarely to n oceans.  The sympatric breeding of both species of Macronectes on several islands and differences in breeding cycle and habitat confirm status as separate species; occasional hybridization has been recorded.

Macronectes halli   HALL'S GIANT-PETREL or NORTHERN GIANT-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in secluded sheltered areas with heavy vegetation.  Is. of s oceans:  S. Georgia, Gough, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie, Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, Stewart and Chatham.  Ranges at sea, presumably only in s waters.  See M. giganteus.
Fulmarus glacialis   NORTHERN FULMAR.  Pelagic, breeding on sea cliffs and rocky islands.  N Eurasia from Greenland s to nw France, and e through n Norway and Arctic is. to Novaya Zemlya; e Siberia (Chukotski Pen.); n N. America on is. off Alaska (s to Aleutians and n Gulf of Alaska), Devon and Baffin is., and Newfoundland.  Winters s to w Europe, Japan, Hawaiian Is., Baja Calif. and se U.S.

Fulmarus glacialoides   SOUTHERN FULMAR.  Pelagic, breeding on rocky ledges on steep coastal cliffs.  Subantarctic is.:  S. Sandwich, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, Bouvet; is. and coasts of Antarctica.  Ranges at sea mostly s of lat. 40°S, and to S. America n to Peru and Brazil, rarely to s Africa.
Thalassoica antarctica   ANTARCTIC PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in crevices and on rock ledges on cliffs.  Coasts of Antarctica.  Ranges at sea in s oceans n to s S. America, S. Africa, Tasmania and New Zealand.
Daption capense   CAPE PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on rock ledges and in shallow crevices.  Is. in s oceans:  S. Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Shetland, S. Orkney, Bouvet, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Balleny, Peter I. Snares, Antipodes and Bounty; coast of Antarctica.  Ranges at sea in s oceans.

Pagodroma nivea   SNOW PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on cliffs.  Large- and small-billed birds, which occur in different proportions in different parts of the species' range and which form mixed pairs at several colonies, have been treated as species, subspecies or morphs of a single species.

P. n. nivea  Is. of s oceans:  S. Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Shetland, S. Orkney, Bouvet and Scott; coast of Antarctica inland to 2000 m.
 P. n. confusa  Balleny Is. and Adélie Land on Antarctic coast.
 The two races hybridize in Antarctica.  Both range at sea in Antarctic waters, rarely n to lat. 40°S.

Lugensa is a valid genus based on morphology, DNA hybridization and mtDNA sequence evidence.

Lugensa brevirostris   KERGUELEN PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. of s Atlantic and s Indian oceans on Tristan da Cunha (Gough, probably others), Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen.  Ranges at sea in s oceans n to lat. 40°S. and to s Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The species aterrima, becki, rostrata and macgillivrayi may belong in Pseudobulweria.  A recently extirpated species, P. rupinarum, apparently vanished from St. Helena I. between 1502 and 1600 (Olson, 1975. Smithson. Contrib. Paleobiol. 23:14).

Pterodroma aterrima   MASCARENE PETREL.  Pelagic.  Presumably breeds in sw Mascarene Is. (Réunion), where the only known specimens have been taken.  Sometimes considered a race of P. rostrata.
Pterodroma becki   BECK'S PETREL.  Pelagic, presumably breeding on islands in burrows.  Breeding grounds unknown; found at sea in New Guinea region in vicinity of Bismarck Arch. and Solomon Is.  Often considered conspecific with P. rostrata.
Pterodroma rostrata   TAHITI PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Sw Oceania in New Caledonia, Society Is. (Moorea, Tahiti), Marquesas (Hiva Oa, Tahuata, Nuku Hiva), probably Samoa (Tau) and Cook Is. (Rarotonga).  Ranges at sea to e Australia and nc Pacific.  See P. aterrima and P. becki.

Pterodroma macgillivrayi   FIJI PETREL.  Pelagic.  Known only from c Fiji on Gau I.
Pterodroma axillaris   CHATHAM ISLANDS PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Chatham Is. (South East I.).  Range at sea unknown.  Sometimes treated as a race of P. nigripennis or of P. hypoleuca.
Pterodroma nigripennis   BLACK-WINGED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. of s Pacific Ocean on Lord Howe, Norfolk, Portland (off ce North I., New Zealand), Kermadec (Raoul, Meyer, Macauley, Curtis), Three Kings (Great King), Chatham (South East), Tubuai (Rapa, Bass Rocks), probably Heron I. off ne Australia.  Ranges at sea in sc Pacific w to e Australia, e almost to Middle America and nw S. America and n to Hawaiian Is. and the w Aleutians where a bird was photographed.  Sometimes treated as a race of P. hypoleuca.

Pterodroma cervicalis   WHITE-NECKED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Kermadec Is. (Raoul).  Ranges at sea in s Pacific, rarely n to Hawaiian Is.  Sometimes considered conspecific with P. externa, but they seem not to be closely related.
Pterodroma inexpectata   MOTTLED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding primarily along inland mountain bluffs and in burrows on small islands.  Is. in New Zealand region:  Snares, small is. off Stewart I., formerly highlands of North and South is.  Ranges widely through c Pacific n to Alaska, Aleutian Is., Bering Sea, etc.
Pterodroma hypoleuca   BONIN PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  N Pacific O. in Bonin, Volcano and w Hawaiian (from Kure e to Nihoa) is.  Ranges at sea in nw Pacific n to Sakhalin and s to c Polynesia.

Pterodroma leucoptera   GOULD'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Sw Pacific O. off e Australia (Cabbage Tree I., New S. Wales), Solomon Is., New Caledonia and Vanuatu.  Ranges at sea in s Pacific s to New Zealand and e to Galapagos Is.
Pterodroma brevipes   COLLARED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Fiji and e Samoa (Tau).  Ranges at sea at least to c Polynesia.  Sometimes treated as a race of P. leucoptera.
Pterodroma cookii   COOK'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  New Zealand on Little and Great Barrier is. (off North I.) and Codfish I. (off Stewart I.).  Ranges to e,n Pacific from Aleutians to Peru).  See P. defilippiana.

Pterodroma defilippiana   DEFILIPPE'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Se Pacific O. off sw S. America (San Felix, San Ambrosio, and Mas-á-Tierra and Santa Clara in Juan Fernández Is.).  Ranges at sea from the vicinity of its nesting grounds to s of the Galapagos.  Sometimes treated as a race of P. cookii.
Pterodroma pycrofti   PYCROFT'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on forested islands in burrows.  Is. off coast of ne New Zealand:  Stephenson, Poor Knights (Aorangi), Hen and Chickens, Stanley, Mercury.  Range at sea unknown.  Often regarded as a race of P. longirostris,but differences in morphology and vocalizations, as well as the widely disjunct breeding range, suggest treatment as allospecies.

Pterodroma longirostris   STEJNEGER'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  W Juan Fernández Is. (Más Afuera).  Ranges at sea in e,n Pacific n to latitude of Japan, Hawaiian Is. and (probably) Calif.  Has occurred off California - specimens in Calif. Acad. Sci.; also photographed at sea.
Pterodroma alba   PHOENIX PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in open situations.  S Oceania in Phoenix Is., Tonga, Line Is. (incl. Kiritimati), Marquesas (Hatutu, Motu Iti, Ua Pu, Fatu Huku), Pitcairn and Kermadec (Raouls) is.  Ranges at sea in s Pacific, rarely n to Hawaiian Islands.
Pterodroma arminjoniana   HERALD PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on bare rock under overhanging ledges or plants.  The two races, which are almost indistinguishable in the hand, sometimes are treated as separate species.

P. a. heraldica  S Pacific O. in Chesterfield Reef (Coral Sea), Raine I. (off ne Australia), Tonga (Eau), Cook Is. (Rarotonga), Marquesas (Ua Pu, Tahuata), Tuamotu (incl. Gambier Is.), Pitcairn and Easter is.  Ranges at sea in s Pacific, rarely n to Hawaiian Islands.
 P. a. arminjoniana  Is. of S. Atlantic on Trindade and Martin Vaz; s Indian O. on Round I. off Mauritius.  Ranges at sea in the Atlantic north at least to the Gulf Stream off the Carolinas.

Pterodroma sandwichensis   HAWAIIAN PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows at high elevations.  Highlands of Hawaiian Is. (Kauai, Maui, Hawaii, formerly Oahu).  Ranges at sea in Pacific s to Polynesia.  In addition to the wide geographical separation of breeding ranges. P. sandwichensis differs from P. phaeopygia in vocalizations and morphology to a degree suggesting specific status.
Pterodroma phaeopygia   GALAPAGOS PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows at high elevations.  Galapagos Is. (Isabela, San Salvador, Santa Cruz, Floreana, San Cristobal).  Ranges at sea in e Pacific from Mexico to n Peru.
Pterodroma neglecta   KERMADEC PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  S. Pacific O. on Lord Howe I., Kermadec, Tubuai (Raivavae, Rapa) and Pitcairn is., and Easter, Juan Fernández (Mas-á-Tierra, Santa Clara), San Ambrosio and San Felix is.  Ranges at sea mostly in S. Pacific w to Caroline Is. and n to Hawaiian Is.  The name, Procellaria phillipii, often used for this species, is a synonym of Pterodroma solandri.

Pterodroma externa   JUAN FERNANDEZ PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Juan Fernández Is. (Más Afuera).  Ranges at sea in s Pacific, rarely n to Marshall and Hawaiian is., and to Tristan da Cunha.  See P. cervicalis.
Pterodroma baraui   BARAU'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on inland cliffs.  Mascarene Is. (Réunion, Rodrigues).  Ranges at sea in the tropical Indian Ocean.
Pterodroma ultima   MURPHY'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands.  S Polynesia in Tubuai Is. (Rapa, Bass Rocks), Tuamotu (Mururoa, Fangatauga, Maria, Timoe) and Pitcairn Is. (Oeno, Henderson, Ducie).  Ranges at sea in breeding region n to Hawaiian Is. and off the coast of California, often in the hundreds far at sea.

Pterodroma solandri   PROVIDENCE PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Lord Howe I. (e of Australia), formerly Norfolk I.  Ranges at sea to nw Pacific O. (to Japan and Hawaiian Is.), and to se Australia.
Pterodroma macroptera   GREAT-WINGED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. in s oceans off W. Australia, n New Zealand, and on Tristan da Cunha (incl. Gough), Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen and Amsterdam.  Ranges at sea in s oceans s of lat. 30°S.

Pterodroma magentae   MAGENTA PETREL.  Pelagic. Known from a specimen taken at sea in c S. Pacific and breeds on the Chatham Is. where at least 52 have been banded and one chick found.  Probably identical with the "TAIKO" which bred in the Chatham Islands well into the 20th Century, followed by a period when the species seemed to be extinct.

Pterodroma lessonii   WHITE-HEADED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. in s oceans s of New Zealand (Kerguelen, Macquarie, Auckland, Antipodes).  Ranges at sea in s oceans s of lat. 33°S.
Pterodroma madeira   MADEIRA PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows on steep slopes.  Highlands of Madeira.  Ranges at sea in ec Atlantic s to w Africa.  Sometimes treated as
a race of P. mollis.  Population 20-30 pairs; fledged 8 chicks in 1993 (World Bird-Watch 16(1):2.
Pterodroma feae   CAPE VERDE PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows on steep slopes.  Desertas Is. (Bugio); Cape Verde Is. (Santo Antão, São Nicolau, Fogo, São Tiago).  Status of two birds from the Azores is uncertain, but they suggest that P. cahow may be part of this complex.  Birds identified as this species have been reported off the Carolinas and Great Britain.  The 150-200 pairs that breed on Bugio Island are threatened by the effects on breeding burrows
of goats and rabbits (World Bird-Watch 16(1):2).  See P. mollis.

Pterodroma mollis   SOFT-PLUMAGED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows on steep slopes.  Is. in s Atlantic and s Indian oceans on Tristan da Cunha (incl. Gough), Kerguelen, Marion, Crozet (East), probably Antipodes.  Ranges at sea in Atlantic and Indian oceans n to lat. 25°S.  It is unclear whether this species reaches the north Atlantic, although birds thought to be mollis have been reported.

Bretagnolle (1995. Ibis 137:207-218) reviewed the systematics of the populations included in P. mollis, using morphology and vocalizations.  He analyzed 535 recordings of calls from 7 of the 11 known breeding localities and found that the physical parameters of the calls do not overlap between breeding localities in the northern and southern hemispheres, but did so within each hemisphere.  Conversely, morphological characters from 10 localities showed wide intra-hemisphere variation and no consistent difference between northern and southern parts of the breeding range.  He decided that vocalizations should be given priority over other characters for species separation and proposed to recognize only two species, mollis and feae, with 3 subspecies each.  Behavior suggested that mollis and feae are closest to P. cahow, and that hasitata and phaeopygia/externa belong to other groups.

This study raises the question --are vocalizations trustworthy as evidence of species limits for allopatric populations?  The insular breeding populations placed in mollis extend over the southern oceans and into the north Atlantic.  They show a high degree of philopatry and there is no evidence of interchange, hence intergradation, among these allopatric insular populations.  They vary in size, color, genetics, behavior and dispersal.  Other authors have recognized from 1 to 6 species.  Vocalizations are clearly important for species recognition among sympatric populations, but may be irrelevant for allopatric ones.  This study seems unlikely to be the solution to the species taxonomy of the mollis group.

Pterodroma incerta   ATLANTIC PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.
Tristan da Cunha (incl. Gough).  Ranges at sea between s S. America and S. Africa.

Pterodroma cahow   BERMUDA PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in burrows in sandy areas on islets.  Bermuda, persisting in small numbers on islets in Castle Roads, formerly Bahama Is. (Crooked I.).  May occur off the Carolinas, but otherwise unknown at sea.
Sometimes treated as a race of P. hasitata, but may be closer to P. feae.

Pterodroma hasitata   BLACK-CAPPED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in burrows on mountain summits.  The two races are sometimes treated as separate species.

P. h. hasitata  Highlands of W. Indies in Hispaniola, e Cuba, Guadeloupe, Dominica (probably extirpated), possibly Martinique. Ranges at sea in Atlantic n to Maine and s to Brazil.  Size variation in birds taken at sea suggests that additional breeding colonies may persist in the Caribbean.  See P. cahow.
 *P. h. caribbaea  Jamaica (Blue Mts.), now probably extinct.

Halobaena caerulea   BLUE PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. in s oceans:  S. Georgia, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet (East), Kerguelen, and Macquarie; s Chile (Diego Ramírez, Cape Horn group).  Ranges at sea in s oceans n to s Australia, New Zealand, s S. America and S. Africa.
Pachyptila vittata   BROAD-BILLED PRION.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  New Zealand region (coasts of Foveaux Strait, islets off Stewart I., Snares and Chatham is.); Tristan da Cunha (incl. Gough).  Ranges at sea in s oceans s of lat. 30°S, and to w,s Australia and S. Africa.  See P. salvini, P. desolata and P. belcheri.
Pachyptila salvini   MEDIUM-BILLED PRION.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.

Sometimes considered a race of P. vittata, but striking differences in bill structure and color
suggest specific status. Nesting overlap with apparent hybridization with P. belcheri is known.
P. s. salvini  Is. in sw Indian Ocean on Crozet, Prince Edward, Marion. Ranges at sea e to Australia and New Zealand, and w to S. Africa.
P. s. macgillivrayi  S Indian Ocean on Amsterdam and St. Paul islands.

Pachyptila desolata   ANTARCTIC PRION.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows, on exposed rock faces of cliffs, and in crevices under boulders.  Is. of s oceans:  S. (Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Auckland and Scott); formerly on the coast of Antarctica (Cape Denison on King George V coast); no recent records.  Ranges at sea in s oceans s of lat. 35°S, and to Australia, New Zealand, s S. America and S. Africa.  Sometimes considered a race of P. vittata.
Pachyptila belcheri   SLENDER-BILLED PRION.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. of s oceans:  Falkland, Crozet (East), Kerguelen, and possibly S. Georgia; s Chile (I. Noir.  Ranges at sea in s oceans, recorded n to w Australia, New Zealand, w Peru, s Brazil and S. Africa.).  Report of possible hybrids with salvini from Kerguelen I. considered erroneous (J. Warham, pers. comm.).

Pachyptila turtur   FAIRY PRION.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and rock crevices.  Australasian region in se Australia (off Victoria and Tasmania), New Zealand (many is. off North, South and Stewart is.); is. in s oceans:  Falkland, Kerguelen, Marion, Crozet (Hog) and Macquarie.  Ranges at sea in s oceans s of lat. 30°S.
Pachyptila crassirostris   FULMAR PRION.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in crevices in lava cliffs and scree slopes.  Is. in s oceans:  Heard, Antipodes, Auckland, Bounty, Chatham, and possibly Kerguelen.  Range at sea unknown; recorded from se Australia and S. Africa.  Sometimes treated as a race of P. turtur.
Bulweria bulwerii   BULWER'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in rocky holes, crevices in cliffs, and on ground under thick vegetation.  Pacific O. on Taiwan, small is. off se China, Bonin, Volcano, Johnston, w Hawaiian (e to Kaula, and small islets around main is.), Phoenix is., and Marquesas; Atlantic O. in Azores (Santa Maria), Madeira (Cima, Baixo), Desertas Is., Canary Is. (Tenerife, Montaña Clara) and Cape Verde Is. (Branco, Razo, Rombos).  Ranges widely at sea in all oceans n to British Isles and s (rarely) to s Africa.  See B. fallax.

Bulweria fallax   JOUANIN'S PETREL.  Pelagic, presumably breeding on small islands.  Breeding range unknown, probably on coast of s Arabia.  Ranges at sea in Indian O. to lat. 5°S.; vagrant Hawaiian Is.  Sometimes treated as a race of B. bulwerii.
Procellaria aequinoctialis   WHITE-CHINNED PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in burrows on islands on sheltered grassy slopes.  Is. in s oceans:  Falkland, Tristan da Cunha (incl. Gough), S. Georgia, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, and probably Amsterdam.  Ranges at sea in s oceans n along coasts of S. America and Africa to lat. 15°S.
Procellaria parkinsoni   PARKINSON'S PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  New Zealand on Little Barrier and Great Barrier is., formerly mts. of North and South is.  Ranges widely at sea in Pacific e to Galapagos Is. and n along Pacific coast of Americas to Mexico.  Usually feeds in association with schools of Spinner Dolphins (Steno sp.).  Formerly called Black Petrel.

Procellaria westlandica   WESTLAND PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in burrows.  Coastal mts. of s New Zealand (w South I. from Barrytown to Punakaiki).  Ranges at sea from New Zealand waters w to Australia.
Procellaria cinerea   GREY PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on sheltered grassy slopes.  Is. of s oceans:  Tristan da Cunha (incl. Gough), Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Campbell, Antipodes, and possibly St. Paul.  Ranges at sea in s oceans generally s of lat. 25°S.
Calonectris diomedea   CORY'S SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and crevices.  Is. of e Atlantic O. (Porto Santo, Desertas, Salvage, Canary, Azores, Cape Verde Is.) and Mediterranean Sea (Balearic Is., Corsica, Sardinia) e to Turkey and Near East, incl. many small islets.  Ranges at sea primarily in Atlantic n to Newfoundland and Baltic Sea and s to s S. America and S. Africa.

The dark-billed race, edwardsi, of the Cape Verde Is. sometimes is treated as a separate species.
 Swatschek, et al. (1994. Molecular Ecology 3:259-262) used DNA fingerprinting in a study of mate fidelity and parentage in Cory's Shearwater in a breeding colony on a small island in the Aegean Sea.  Almost all breeding mates stay together over many consecutive years; mates usually changed when a partner disappeared; "divorce" occurred at a rate of 2.7%.  The parentage of 46 offspring from 29 pairs revealed no evidence of extra-pair paternity.

Calonectris leucomelas   STREAKED SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on small wooded islands.  Small coastal is. of e Asia off Japan (from Hokkaido to Kyushu), Korea, e China (off Shantung), Taiwan, Izu, Bonin and Pescadores is.  Ranges at sea in Pacific from Sakhalin s to Greater Sunda Is., Philippines and Australia, and rarely e to coast of Calif.

Oka (1994. J. Yamashina Inst. Orn. 26:99-108) described the sustainable exploitation of the Streaked Shearwater colony on Mikura I., off the Izu Peninsula, Japan.  For at least 250 years
the older chicks have been taken for a few days each year with minimal disturbance.
The birds are used only for home consumption and the colony has remained at a steady level.

Puffinus pacificus   WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. of Indian O. off coast of Madagascar, and from Seychelles, Mascarene Is. and Chagos Arch. e to Cocos (Keeling) Is. and is. off coast of sw,s Australia (W. Australia from Dampier Arch. s to Rottnest and Carnac is.; S. Australia on Smith I.); Pacific O. from Pescadores, Bonin and Volcano is. s through Micronesia and Polynesia to se New Guinea (Bavo I.), is. off e Australia (s to New S. Wales), Lord Howe and Norfolk is., and e to Hawaiian Is. and Henderson I.; Revillagigedo Is. (San Benedicto).  Ranges widely at sea through tropical Indian and Pacific oceans.  Vagrant n to c California.
Puffinus bulleri   BULLER'S SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.
New Zealand (Poor Knights, possibly other is. off North I.).  Ranges at sea through Pacific O. n
to Japan and Alaska and e to coast of Americas (s to Chile), and to Australian waters.
One record of a bird photographed off New Jersey.

Puffinus carneipes   FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. in s Indian O. (St. Paul); Australasian region off s W. Australia (from Cape Leeuwin to Arch. Recherche), Lord Howe I., is. off n New Zealand (North I. from Hen and Chicken Is. to Cook Strait, and off New Plymouth).  Ranges at sea through Indian O. w to Mascarenes and Seychelles, and n to Arabian Sea and Sri Lanka; and through w,n Pacific n to Japan and e to Hawaiian Is., rarely but regularly to coast of N. America.  See P. creatopus.
Puffinus creatopus   PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Juan Fernández Is. (Mas-á-Tierra, Santa Clara); off coast of Chile (Mocha I.).  Ranges at sea in e Pacific n to Alaska, and rarely w to Hawaiian Is.  May be conspecific with P. carneipes.

Puffinus gravis   GREAT SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  S Atlantic O. in Falkland Is. (Kidney I.) and Tristan da Cunha (incl. Gough, questionably on Tristan da Cunha I.).  Ranges at sea in Atlantic n to Arctic Circle.
Puffinus griseus   SOOTY SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. in Australasian region off se Australia (off New S. Wales and se Tasmania), s New Zealand (Foveaux Strait off Stewart I.), Macquarie, Chatham, Antipodes, Campbell, Auckland and Snares is.; s S. America from Tierra del Fuego (Wollaston, Deceit and small is., incl. Falkland Is.) n to sw Chile (Chiloë).  Ranges widely through most of Pacific and Atlantic oceans n to Arctic Circle and Indian O. to se Africa.

Puffinus tenuirostris   SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. off s Australia (from Arch. Recherche off W. Australia and Nuyts Arch. off S. Australia e to Batemans Bay in New S. Wales, incl. Tasmania).  Ranges widely at sea in Pacific n to Kamchatka, Beaufort Sea and Alaska, and s along Pacific coast of N. America to Calif.
Puffinus nativitatis   CHRISTMAS ISLAND SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on ground beneath vegetation or in shallow tunnels.  Is. of Pacific O.: n Marshall (Taongi), Hawaiian (e to Moku Manu, off Oahu), Johnston, Phoenix, Line (Kiritimati), Marquesas, Tubuai (Rapa), Gambier, Pitcairn and Easter is., and Sala-y-Gómez.  Ranges at sea in tropical Pacific generally near breeding grounds.

Puffinus puffinus   MANX SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows, on rocky cliffs, and occasionally inland in mountains.  Is. in N. Atlantic off Newfoundland, Massachusetts (Penikese); from Iceland (Vestmann Is.), Faroes and Shetland Is. s around British Isles to w France (Brittany); Azores, Madeira, Canary Is., Balearic Is. (w Mediterranean Sea), formerly Bermuda.  Ranges at sea in Atlantic from breeding grounds s to Argentina and S. Africa, rarely to Australian and New Zealand region.  Birds thought to be this species have been photographed off California and n to Washington state.

P. puffinus and the following five species are frequently considered conspecific, but vocalizations and morphology suggest that they are allospecies (J. R. Jehl, pers. comm.).  See P. yelkouan.
Puffinus yelkouan   MEDITERRANEAN SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.

mtDNA sequence evidence (cytochrome b) supports separation of P. yelkouan from P. puffinus (Wink, et al. 1993. Die Vogelwelt 114:226-232), but they didn't include mauretanicus.
P. y. mauretanicus  Balearic Is.  Ranges at sea in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic O. along
w coasts of Europe and Africa.
 P. y. yelkouan  Is. in Mediterranean Sea from islets off France, Corsica and Sardinia e to Adriatic and Aegean seas.  Ranges at sea in Mediterranean and Black seas.

Puffinus auricularis   TOWNSEND'S SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.

P. a. newelli  Hawaiian Is. on Kauai, probably Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii.
Ranges at sea in Hawaiian waters. Sometimes considered a distinct species, but vocalizations and morphology are similar to those of auricularis.
P. a. auricularis  Revillagigedo Is. on Clarión, San Benedicto and Socorro.  Ranges at sea off coast of w Mexico from Baja Calif. to Oaxaca.

Puffinus opisthomelas   BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and small caves.  Is. off Pacific coast of Baja Calif. (Guadalupe, San Martin, San Benito, Natividad).  Ranges at sea along Pacific coast of N. America from British Columbia (rarely) and Calif. s to Guerrero.
Puffinus gavia   FLUTTERING SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.
New Zealand (islets off North I. and in Cook Strait).  Ranges at sea from New Zealand region
w to s Australia and n to New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
Puffinus huttoni   HUTTON'S SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding in burrows in mountainous areas.  Mts., 1200-1800 m, of s New Zealand (South I. in seaward Kaikoura Mts.).  Ranges at sea in New Zealand waters w to s,w Australia and Tasmania.

Puffinus assimilis   LITTLE SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and crevices in coastal cliffs.  Is. in Atlantic O. in Azores, Cape Verde Is., Desertas (Bugio), Salvage and Canary is., Cima and Baixo is., and Tristan da Cunha group (incl. Gough I.); Australasian region off sw Australia (Houtman Abrolhos Is., Parrakeet islet off Rottnest I., Eclipse I., Arch. Recherche, and many other islands), Admiralty Is. (Roach), Lord Howe group, Norfolk I. (Bird Rocks), Kermadec Is. (Raoul I.), islets off New Zealand (off North I.), and Auckland, Chatham, Antipodes and Tubuai (Rapa) is., possibly Chiloe I. off s Chile.  Indian Ocean on St. Paul and formerly on Amsterdam.  Ranges at sea widely in e Atlantic and s oceans, rarely n to Hawaiian Is. and Nova Scotia.

Puffinus lherminieri   AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in rock crevices and on ground under dense vegetation.  Is. in Pacific O. from Palau and Mariana and Caroline is. s to Vanuatu and Fiji, Samoa, Society and Gambier is., and Marquesas; Galapagos Is.; Atlantic-Caribbean region e to Nicaragua (Crab Cay off I. Providencia), off Panama (Tiger Rock off Bocas del Toro), off n Venezuela (Los Roques, La Orchila, Los Hermanos), Bermuda, near Puerto Rico (Mona I., and Cayo del Agua off Culebra), Bahamas, Virgin Is. and Lesser Antilles (s to Tobago); Cape Verde Is.; Indian O. off s Oman in se Arabia, Chagos Arch., Seychelles (incl. Amirante Is.), Comoro (Mohéli), Aldabra, Mascarene and Maldive is.  Ranges widely at sea in tropical oceans n to India, c Mexico in the e Pacific and ne U.S., and s to s Africa, n Australia, New Guinea and Colombia.  Birds from the Cape Verde Is. (boydi) are referred to lherminieri or to P. assimilis by different authors.  The peculiar distribution of morphological types within this complex is somewhat parallel to that of the P. puffinus group; treatment of distinct populations as allospecies seems reasonable.

Puffinus persicus   PERSIAN SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, presumably breeding on islands.  Breeding grounds unknown, presumably in s Persian Gulf.  Ranges at sea in Arabian Sea region.  This species, P. bannermani and P. heinrothi are sometimes treated as subspecies of P. lherminieri.
Puffinus bannermani   BANNERMAN'S SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in rock crevices.  Bonin and Volcano is.  Range at sea unknown.
Puffinus heinrothi   HEINROTH'S SHEARWATER.  Pelagic, presumably breeding on islands.  Known only from a few specimens collected at sea in c Bismarck Arch. off n New Britain and off Bougainville in the nw Solomon Is.

Pelecanoides garnotii   PERUVIAN DIVING-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. off Pacific coast of sw S. America from Peru (I. Lobos de Tierra) s to c Chile (I. Mocha).  Ranges at sea from breeding grounds s to I. Chiloe.
Pelecanoides magellani   MAGELLANIC DIVING-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. of s S. America in Tierra del Fuego region (Navarino, Staten, Deceit, and other small islets).  Ranges at sea along S. American coast in Chile (n to I. Chiloe and Falkland Is.) and s Argentina (ne Santa Cruz).
Pelecanoides georgicus   SOUTH GEORGIA DIVING-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. in s oceans (S. Georgia, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Auckland, and possibly Macquarie).  Ranges at sea in vicinity of breeding grounds, rarely n to se Australia.

Pelecanoides urinatrix   COMMON DIVING-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.

P. u. urinatrix  Australasian region off se Australia (incl. Tasmania), New Zealand (off North I., Cook Strait), Solander (off Stewart I.), Snares, Chatham Is.; S. Atlantic in Tristan da Cunha group (incl. Gough), probably is. along Pacific coast of s Chile.  Includes coppingeri.
 P. u. berard  Falkland Is.
 P. u. exsul  Is. in s oceans (S. Georgia, Marion, Crozet (Possession), Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Auckland, Campbell and Antipodes).
 Range at sea in waters near breeding grounds.

Subfamily DIOMEDEINAE:

Nunn, et al. (1994. J. für Orn. 135:352) summarized the results of comparisons of the 1143 base pairs of the mtDNA cytochrome b gene from all species of albatrosses.
Their analysis separates the north Pacific mollymawks and the great albatrosses from the southern hemisphere sooty albatrosses and southern mollymawks.
The evidence that the sooty albatrosses are the closest relatives of the southern mollymawks indicates that the genus Diomedea is paraphyletic and suggests a revision of the group.
This is supported by nesting structures, behavior and the phylogeography of the birds.
The following list is in the traditional arrangement, awaiting the proposed revision.

Diomedea exulans   WANDERING ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on exposed tussock-covered ridges and hilltops.  Is. of s oceans:  S. Georgia, Tristan da Cunha group (Inaccessible, Tristan da Cunha, formerly Gough), Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie, Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, and questionably Falklands.  Ranges at sea mostly in s oceans s of lat. 22°S.  Rare vagrant north of the equator, most or all records suspected to involve ship-assisted transport in some form, probably by providing food thrown overboard.
Diomedea amsterdamensis   AMSTERDAM ISLAND ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on exposed tussock-covered ridges and hilltops.  Amsterdam I.  Presumably ranges at sea in s Indian Ocean, perhaps more widely.  Total population small.

Diomedea epomophora   ROYAL ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands or peninsulas in open grassy areas.  Islands of s oceans (Auckland, Campbell and Chatham groups); s New Zealand (Otago Peninsula on se South I.).  Ranges at sea in s oceans from s Australia to s S. America.
Diomedea irrorata   WAVED ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in open grassy or scrubby areas.  Se Galapagos Is. (Hood I.); off Ecuador (I. La Plata, where nearly extirpated).  Ranges at sea near Galapagos Is., and along Pacific coast of S. America from Colombia to c Peru.
Diomedea albatrus   SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on small oceanic islands on ground.  Izu Is. (Tori Shima); formerly s Ryukyu and n Bonin is., probably elsewhere in region.  Ranges at sea through n Pacific.

Diomedea nigripes   BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on oceanic islands on open sand.  W Hawaiian Is. (from Kure and Midway e to Nihoa and Kauai), Izu Is. (Tori Shima I.); formerly n Bonin, Volcano (Iwo Jima), Mariana (Agrihan), n Marshall (Taongi), Marcus, Wake and Johnston islands.  Nesting range in e Pacific apparently expanding; now nests on islands off Baja California.  Perhaps in time will reach the Channel Is. off s California.  Ranges at sea throughout n Pacific.
Diomedea immutabilis   LAYSAN ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on oceanic islands in open grassy areas.  W Hawaiian Is. (from Kure e to Nihoa, Nihau, Kauai, and Moku Manu off Oahu); formerly Izu Is. (Tori Shima), Marcus, Johnston and Wake is.; Revillagigedo Is. (Clarión).  Ranges at sea in n Pacific from Bering Sea s to Japan and Baja Calif.

Diomedea melanophris   BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on tussock-covered slopes and cliffs near sea.  Is. of s oceans:  Falkland, S. Georgia, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Staten, Campbell, Antipodes, doubtfully Marion, Prince Edward and Crozet; is. off s Chile (from Ildefonso, Evout and Diego Ramírez n to Diego des Almagro).  Ranges at sea in s oceans and vagrant to n Atlantic (n to Greenland and Norway).
Diomedea cauta   SHY ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in open areas.
The three races are distinctive and sometimes are treated as separate species.
 D. c. cauta  Is. off Tasmania (Albatross, Mewstone, Pedra Blanca); Auckland Is. (Disappointment).  Ranges at sea in s oceans; one record from the n Pacific.
  D. c. salvini  Crozet, Snares and Bounty is. Ranges at sea in s oceans w to S. Africa, e to s S. America.
 D. c. eremita  Chatham Is. on Pyramid Rock.

Diomedea chrysostoma   GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on tussock-covered slopes and cliffs near sea.  Is. in s oceans:  Diego Ramírez (off Tierra del Fuego), S. Georgia, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie and Campbell.  Ranges at sea in s oceans mostly s of lat. 40°S, rarely to s Africa.
Diomedea chlororhynchos   YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands on ledges and cliffs generally sheltered by scrub or grassy tussocks.  Is. in s oceans:  Tristan da Cunha group (incl. Gough), Prince Edward, Kerguelen, Amsterdam and St. Paul.  Ranges at sea in s oceans, rarely to n Atlantic off Norway, etc.

Diomedea bulleri   BULLER'S ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in tussock-covered areas.  New Zealand region (Solander, Snares, Chatham is. and Three Kings islands).  Ranges at sea in s oceans w to s Australia and e to s S. America.
Phoebetria fusca   SOOTY ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands among heavy vegetation and on cliffs.  Is. of s Atlantic and Indian oceans:  Tristan da Cunha group (incl. Gough), Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Amsterdam, St. Paul.  Ranges at sea in s oceans s of lat. 30°S.

Phoebetria palpebrata   LIGHT-MANTLED ALBATROSS.  Pelagic, breeding on islands among heavy vegetation.  Is. of s oceans:  S. Georgia, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Auckland, Campbell and Antipodes.  Ranges at sea in s oceans generally s of lat. 30°S.  A well-authenticated and clearly photographed sight record off c California on July 20, 1994 (Rich Stallcup).  This bird probably followed a ship from the southern hemisphere.

Subfamily HYDROBATINAE:

Oceanites oceanicus   WILSON'S STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in burrows and cliff crevices.  Is. of s oceans:  S S. America on islets near Cape Horn; islands of s oceans on the Falklands, S. Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, Bouvet, Crozet (East), Kerguelen, Heard, Balleny, Scott and Peter I is.; coasts of Antarctica.  Ranges widely at sea through Atlantic and Indian oceans n to Labrador, British Isles, Persian Gulf, Strait of Malacca and Greater Sunda Is., and in Pacific n to Marshall Is., and along coast of Americas (at least rarely) to w U.S. and Japan.
Oceanites gracilis   WHITE-VENTED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, presumably breeding on islands.  Breeding grounds unknown.  Ranges in waters of Galapagos Is. and coast of w S. America from Ecuador to c Chile.

Garrodia nereis   GREY-BACKED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in rock crevices or shallow burrows under grass tussocks.  Is. of s oceans:  Falkland, Gough, S. Georgia, Crozet (East), Kerguelen, Auckland, Antipodes, Chatham, and possibly Macquarie.  Ranges at sea in s oceans, apparently not far from breeding grounds.
Pelagodroma marina   WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. of Atlantic O. in Salvage (Great Salvage, Pitão), Canary, Cape Verde (Branco, Cima), and Tristan da Cunha group (Inaccessible, Nightingale, Gough); Australasian region off w,s,se Australia (from Houtman Abrolhos Is. to Bass Strait, and n to Broughton Is.), New Zealand, Auckland, Chatham, Kermadec (Herald, Raoul), formerly Lord Howe I.; formerly Indian O. (St. Helena, Amsterdam).  Ranges at sea in Indian and Pacific oceans s of Equator, and in Atlantic n to e coast of U.S.

Fregetta tropica   BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and rock crevices.  Is. in s oceans:  S. Georgia, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, Bouvet, Crozet (East), Kerguelen, Auckland, Bounty and Antipodes.  Ranges at sea in s oceans, recorded n to South America, w Africa, Bay of Bengal, Australia, Solomon Is. and s Polynesia.  Includes F. lineata, considered a "streaked morph" of F. tropica.
Fregetta grallaria   WHITE-BELLIED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and rock crevices.  Is. in Indian O. (St. Paul, Amsterdam); New Zealand region in Admiralty (Roach), Kermadec (Macauley) and Lord Howe is.; s Pacific O. in Tubuai (Rapa) and Juan Fernández (Goat I. off Mas-á-Tierra) is.; s Atlantic O. (Tristan da Cunha group, incl. Gough).  Ranges at sea in s oceans n to Samoa, Marquesas and Galapagos is., Brazil, and w,s Africa.

Nesofregetta fuliginosa   POLYNESIAN STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in rock crevices and burrows.  Is. of s Pacific O. in Vanuatu, Samoa, Phoenix, Line (incl. Kiritimati), Tubuai (Rapa), Gambier, Marquesas and Sala-y-Gómez.  Ranges at sea in s Pacific n to Marshall Is.  Includes N. moestissima, known from a single specimen of the melanistic phase taken in Samoa.
Hydrobates pelagicus   EUROPEAN STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in rock crevices and burrows.  Is. of nw Palearctic:  Vestmann I. (off Iceland), Faroes, Norway, British Isles, Channel Is., w France, coasts of Spain and Portugal, e Canary Is. and Mediterranean Sea (from Balearic Is., Corsica and Sardinia e to is. in Aegean Sea).  Ranges at sea in e Atlantic from Scandinavia s to S. Africa, and in Indian O. n to the Zambesi River.  One record for the nw Atlantic.

Oceanodroma microsoma   LEAST STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islets in crevices or among loose stones.  Is. off Baja Calif. on Pacific coast (San Benito); n Gulf of Calif. (Consag Rock, and San Luis and Partida is.).  Ranges at sea along Pacific coast of Americas from s Calif. s to Ecuador; vagrant n to c California.  Generic assignment uncertain; may be separable from Oceanodroma.
Oceanodroma tethys   WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Galapagos Is. (Tower, Pitt); is. off coast of w Peru (San Gallán, Pescadores).  Ranges at sea in e Pacific from C. America s to Chile; vagrant n to c California.

Oceanodroma castro   BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and rock crevices.  Is. in Pacific O. off Japan (Hide Shima, possibly Sangan Hima), Hawaiian (Kauai, possibly Maui) and Galapagos is.; Atlantic O. (Azores, Madeira, Salvage, Cape Verde, Ascension, St. Helena, and possibly São Tomé, also Is. Farilhões off c Portugal).  Ranges at sea in Pacific O. near breeding grounds and to Phoenix Is., rarely to s or c California; in the Atlantic from e U.S. and British Isles s to w Africa.
Oceanodroma leucorhoa   LEACH'S STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.

The taxonomy of this complex is confused.
There are all dark-rumped populations on San Benito and Los Coronados islands; variable populations on Guadalupe Island, where both summer-breeding and distinct winter-breeding populations occur, and white-rumped populations nest elsewhere.
Variation reported in vocalizations is of uncertain significance, but more than one species may
exist on the eastern central Pacific coast.
The only name that certainly applies to the winter-nesting population is O. l. cheimomnestes.
 O. l. leucorhoa  Islands in n Pacific O. from Shumagin and Aleutian Is. and s coastal Alaska s to Baja Calif. (Los Coronados, San Benito); from Commander Is. s to Kuril Is. and n Japan (n Hokkaido); n Atlantic O. from s Labrador s to Newfoundland, Maine (Casco Bay) and Massachusetts (Penikese Is.); from s Iceland, Faroe Is. and Norway to n Scotland. Ranges at sea in Pacific from Mariana and Hawaiian is. s to Japan, Bonin Islands, Kiribati, Marquesas and Galapagos is., and in Atlantic s to e Brazil, S. Africa and Mediterranean Sea.

O. l. socorroensis  Guadalupe I.  Ranges at sea n to s Calif.

Oceanodroma monorhis   SWINHOE'S STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Is. in n Pacific O. off Japan (off n,ne Honshu and n Kyushu), s,w Korea and e China (off Shantung), probably Ryukyu Is. and small is. off ne Taiwan.  Ranges at sea to tropical Indian O. (n to Arabian Sea and Ceylon) through Strait of Malacca and Greater Sunda Is.  A few birds captured ashore in the nw Atlantic from Madeira to Great Britain are vocally and genetically closer to this species than to sympatric O. leucorhoa and their status is not clear.
O. monorhis is sometimes treated as a race of O. leucorhoa, but differs in calls, proportions and genetic traits.
*Oceanodroma macrodactyla   GUADALUPE STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, bred in burrow among coniferous trees at high elevations.  Presumably extinct (not recorded since 1912); bred formerly at high elevations on Guadalupe I.

Oceanodroma tristrami   TRISTRAM'S STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows and rock crevices.  Is. in n Pacific O. in Volcano (Kita Iwo Jima), Izu (Tori Shima) and Hawaiian is. (from Pearl and Hermes Reef e to Nihoa, possibly Kure and Midway).  Ranges at sea in n Pacific from Hawaiian Is. (e at least to Kauai) to Japanese waters and Bonin Is.
May be conspecific with O. markhami.
Oceanodroma markhami   MARKHAM'S STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding presumably on islands in burrows or rock crevices.  Peru.  Ranges at sea in e Pacific off American coasts from Clipperton I. off s Mexico to Chile.

Oceanodroma matsudairae   MATSUDAIRA'S STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows.  Volcano Is. (Kita Iwo Jima).  Ranges at sea s to w Micronesia and Indonesia, and through Greater Sunda Is. area to Indian O. at least to e Africa and s to sw Australia.  May be conspecific with O. melania.
Oceanodroma melania   BLACK STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows, crannies under rocks, and crevices in cliffs.  Is. off s Calif. (Sutil I. adjacent to Santa Barbara I. in Channel Is.) and Baja Calif. (Los Coronados and San Benito is. along Pacific coast; Consag Rock, San Luis and Partida is. in n Gulf of Calif.).  Ranges at sea along Pacific coast of Americas from c Calif. s to Peru.

Oceanodroma homochroa   ASHY STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in natural cavities under rocks and in burrows.  Is. off Calif. (Bird I. in Marin Co.; Farallon Is.; Channel Is.) and (rarely) n Baja Calif. (Los Coronados).  Ranges at sea along Pacific coast from n Calif. s to c Baja Calif.
Oceanodroma hornbyi   RINGED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding in burrows in desert areas.  Coastal mts. of n Chile.  Ranges at sea along Pacific coast of S. America from Ecuador to c Chile.
Oceanodroma furcata   FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL.  Pelagic, breeding on islands in burrows or holes under rocks.  Is. of n Pacific O. off e Siberia (from Commander Is. s to Kuril Is.); nw N. America from s Alaska (Aleutians, is. in Gulf of Alaska, Alexander Arch.) s to n Calif.  Ranges at sea in n Pacific s to Japan, Volcano and Hawaiian is., and s Calif.
 

fine dei non passeriformi