It breeds hundreds of kilometres inland in Antarctica, on nunataks protruding from the ice cap, and makes round trips to the sea of more than six hundred kilometres to feed a single chick.
From Snow Petrel
Deposits of its stomach oil, hardened over time, build up beside its nests for millennia, and scientists use them to reconstruct Antarctic climate history over the past 30,000 years.
From Snow Petrel
The Svarthamaren colony, deep in the Antarctic interior, holds more than 200,000 pairs 200 kilometres from the nearest sea: the adults make round trips of more than four hundred kilometres to bring food to a single chick.
From Antarctic Petrel
Like other petrels, it defends itself by spitting a foul-smelling stomach oil that mats the attacker's plumage, which is especially dangerous for another seabird, as it can lose its waterproofing.
From Antarctic Petrel
A scavenger at penguin and seal colonies; its wingspan reaches 2 m.
From Southern Giant Petrel
It eats both carrion and live prey, other seabirds' chicks included, and behaves far more like a predator than most of its petrel relatives.
From Southern Giant Petrel
It is the only seabird of the Southern Ocean able to open the skin of a dead seal by itself: its hooked, massive bill gives it access to a resource no other species can exploit unaided.
From Southern Giant Petrel
It flies straight through the waves: it enters the water without slowing, swims with its wings below the surface and comes out the other side carrying on in flight, with no pause between one medium and the other.
From Common Diving-Petrel

Ecosystems

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