Antarctic Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) also known as Southern Giant-Petrel

Greg Lasley Nature Photography
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The Antarctic Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), also known as Southern Giant-Petrel by some authors, is a circumpolar resident of the southern oceans and Antarctic seas as far south as the pack ice. The species has several color morphs including the very unusual white morph seen at right. This bird (with a tiny chick visible) was photographed at Hannah Point, Livingston Island, Antarctica, in January, 1996. The photograph was taken with a Canon T-90 & FD 400mm F4.5 lens mounted on a tripod with Fuji Sensia 100 film. A darker bird can be seen below.

	A more typical color morph of the Southern Giant-Petrel is the gray bird at left. The very similar Hall's (also known as Northern) Giant-Petrel has a reddish tipped bill rather than the greenish tipped bill displayed by these birds. The bill tip can be hard to see under most field conditions, however. This bird was photographed in January, 1996 near Elephant Is., Antarctica as it passed by our ship. Same photo gear as above but the camera and lens were hand-held and Kodachrome 200 was used. See below for another shot.
	Visitors to the southern oceans sometimes do not realize that Antarctic Giant-Petrels fill the niche of vultures in these areas. The pair of birds at left was feeding on a fur seal carcass at Fortuna Bay, South Georgia, on 26 January 1999. The photo, from a series of nearly 90 images, was taken with a Canon EOS 1N & ED 70-200mm F2.8L lens with fill flash on Fuji Sensia 100. The camera and lens were hand-held. For a photo of me taking this particular image, go here and scroll to the next to the last shot at the bottom of the page.

The Antarctic Giant-Petrel above and the two birds below were photographed in February, 2005, off the Antarctic Peninsula with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II and EF 70-200 F/2.8 L IS lens and 2X extender.

Below are several shots taken on the island of South Georgia, in January, 2002, with a Canon EOS 1V and EF 70-200 F/2.8 L IS lens. These Antarctic Giant-Petrels are feeding on a fur seal carcass and showing some of the interesting posturing and displays they often do in this situation to try to keep other giant-petrels and skuas away from the carcass.