Fairy Prion
Pachyptila turtur
The Fairy Prion (Pachyptila turtur) is a rare petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrel found in 5 countries, weighing about 137 g. The fairy prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath.
About the Fairy Prion
The fairy prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath. The sexes are alike. It is a small prion which frequents the low subantarctic and subtropic seas.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The fairy prion is around 25 cm (9.8 in) in length, with a wingspan of 56 cm (22 in). The plumage is blue-grey on its upperparts with a dark "M" extending to the wingtips. The tail is wedge-shaped with a dark tip. The underparts are mostly white. It has a pale blue bill with blue legs and feet. The sexes are alike. In appearance, it is very similar to the fulmar prion (Pachyptila crassirostris), and the two species cannot be distinguished at sea.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Fairy Prion can be seen all year round, with peak activity in November. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Fairy Prion?
- The fairy prion is around 25 cm (9.8 in) in length, with a wingspan of 56 cm (22 in). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Fairy Prion?
- The Fairy Prion is a medium sized bird weighing about 137 g.
- Where can you see a Fairy Prion?
- The Fairy Prion occurs in 5 countries, including New Zealand, Australia, the Falkland Islands, South Africa and Argentina.
- What birds look similar to a Fairy Prion?
- The Fairy Prion is most easily confused with the Slender-billed Prion, the Antarctic Prion and the Broad-billed Prion.
- Is the Fairy Prion endangered?
- The Fairy Prion is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Fairy Prion for real
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