Northern Giant Petrel

Pāngurunguru is a huge brown petrel with a massive bill tipped reddish pink, often seen scavenging around seal and penguin colonies. The red bill tip separates adults from southern giant petrel, whose bill tip is greenish; northern birds also lack the southern species’ white morph.

It breeds on New Zealand’s Chatham and subantarctic islands and ranges widely through shelf and oceanic waters around the country. It scavenges carrion and fisheries waste, takes squid and fish, and can prey on seabird chicks. Pairs raise one chick on an open ground nest.

Northern giant petrel is At Risk — Recovering (NZ Threat Classification). Fisheries hooks, plastic ingestion and disturbance remain risks despite population recovery. Kaikōura, Otago and Cook Strait pelagic trips encounter it, while subantarctic voyages see birds near breeding colonies.