CreatureData

Phoenix petrel

Pterodroma alba (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

VUVulnerablebirds

The phoenix petrel (Pterodroma alba) is a species in the family Procellariidae, order Procellariiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 259 g and live up to 11.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Phoenix petrel (Pterodroma alba)
Photo: James Eaton · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the phoenix petrel

Weight
259 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
83 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
11.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
11.3 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
53 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the phoenix petrel?

PHOENIX PETREL · WINGSPAN 83 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 83 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the phoenix petrel is about 49% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the phoenix petrel live?

Not recorded

What is the phoenix petrel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Phoenix petrel (Pterodroma alba) is a medium-sized tropical seabird, measuring up to 35 cm (1.15 ft) long, with a wingspan of 83 cm (2.72 ft). It has a dark brown upperparts plumage, white below and whitish throat. The sexes are similar.

The Phoenix petrel is found throughout oceans and coastal areas in the central Pacific Ocean. Their colonies can be found on Phoenix, Tonga, Kiritimati, Tuamotu, Marquesas and Pitcairn Island. Females lay one white egg on the ground surface. The diet consists mainly of squid, fish and crustaceans.

Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, predation by invasive species and human exploitation, the Phoenix petrel is evaluated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

From the Wikipedia article “Phoenix petrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phoenix_petrel&oldid=1347769885), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the phoenix petrel endangered?

The phoenix petrel is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.

How is the phoenix petrel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderProcellariiformes
  5. familyProcellariidae
  6. genusPterodroma
  7. SpeciesPterodroma alba (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Synonyms Aestrelata oliveri, Oestrelata wortheni, Procellaria alba, Procellaria parvirostris, Pterodroma alba cantonia

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • نوء العنقاءArabic
  • petrell de les illes FènixCatalan
  • buřňák tichomořskýCzech
  • pedryn Ynysoedd y FfenicsWelsh
  • PhönixsturmvogelGerman
  • Phönix-SturmvogelGerman
  • feniksa petreloEsperanto
  • Polinezia burdopetreloEsperanto
  • Petrel de las FénixSpanish
  • Fardela de FénixSpanish
  • Petrel de las PhoenixSpanish
  • valgekurk-tormilindEstonian
  • مرغ باران فینیکسPersian
  • sirppiviistäjäFinnish
  • Pétrel à poitrine blancheFrench
  • Diablotin à poitrine blancheFrench
  • crnokrili zovojCroatian
  • Feniksova burnicaCroatian
  • Petrello delle PhoenixItalian
  • ムナオビシロハラミズナギドリJapanese
  • baltakrūtis audrašauklisLithuanian
  • PhoenixstormvogelDutch
  • phoenixpetrellNorwegian
  • petrel polinezyjskiPolish
  • freira-das-fénixPortuguese
  • freira-de-barriga-branca-do-pacíficoPortuguese
  • grazina-das-fênixPortuguese
  • Белый тайфунникRussian
  • tajfúnnik polynézskySlovak
  • lafu teaTongan
  • Phoenix Adaları FırtınakuşuTurkish
  • тайфунник макронезійськийUkrainian
  • 白腹圆尾鹱Chinese
  • 白腹圓尾鸌Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the phoenix petrel

Other species in the same genus Pterodroma.

ComparePhoenix petrel vs Bermuda petrelPhoenix petrel vs Great-winged petrelPhoenix petrel vs Soft-plumaged petrelPhoenix petrel vs Black-winged petrel

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the phoenix petrel?

An adult phoenix petrel weighs 259 g and has a wingspan of 83 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the phoenix petrel endangered?

The phoenix petrel is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the phoenix petrel live?

The phoenix petrel has a recorded lifespan of 11.3 years.

What kind of animal is the phoenix petrel?

The phoenix petrel (Pterodroma alba) belongs to the family Procellariidae in the order Procellariiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Phoenix petrel (Pterodroma alba). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/phoenix-petrel

MLA

“Phoenix petrel (Pterodroma alba).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/phoenix-petrel.

BibTeX
@misc{phoenix_petrel_2026,
  title = {Phoenix petrel (Pterodroma alba)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/phoenix-petrel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}