• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Brooke, M. de L. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Near Threatened
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	132,000,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	23600 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2001
Population trend	increasing	good	suspected	1958-2009
Generation length	17 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The largest population is on South Georgia (Georgias del Sur), with c.4,310 pairs. followed by Chatham Islands (c.2000 pairs on the Forty-Fours and 80-100 pairs on Middle Sister), Iles Kerguelen (1,450-1,800 pairs), Iles Crozet (1,300 pairs), Macquarie Island (c.1,500 pairs), Prince Edward Island (464 pairs), Antipodes Island (233 pairs), Campbell Island (234 pairs) and the Auckland Group (100 pairs). In total, the population is estimated to number 11,800 breeding pairs.

Trend justification: Recent data indicate population increases may be occurring. In the 1980s, the world population was estimated to number c.8,600 pairs (Hunter 1985). A more recent estimate, is of 11,800 pairs (ACAP 2010), an apparent increase of >30 % (Patterson et al. 2008). A comprehensive survey of all known breeding sites in the South Georgia archipelago between 2005 and 2006 suggests that there has been a c.30 % increase in the last two decades (Poncet et al. in litt. 2008). The Marion Island and possibly the Prince Edward Island populations are also increasing. On Macquarie Island, the population showed a steady increase up until 2009, where the population peaked at an estimated 1,800-1,900 breeding pairs. A substantial mortality event associated with non-target/secondary poisoning during the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project aerial baiting phase in 2010 and 2011, reduced the population to pre-2000 levels (R. Alderman unpubl. data). Subsequent monitoring and modelling predict full recovery and continuation of increase for this population (Tuck et al. in prep.). The Possession Island (Crozet) population, which decreased between the 1980s and 1992, may now be increasing (Bretagnolle et al. 1991, H. Weimerskirch unpubl. data). These increases probably reflect greater availability of carrion from expanding populations of fur seals Arctocephalus gazella and A. tropicalis, increased waste from commercial fishing operations (Patterson et al. 2008), and use of measures to reduce seabird bycatch around some breeding colonies, such as South Georgia (Georgias del Sur). A 2003 census on the Antipodes Islands counted 230 breeding pairs (Wiltshire and Hamilton 2003), but trends are not known at present. 

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Antarctica	extant	native			yes
Argentina	extant	native			yes
Australia	extant	native		yes
Bouvet Island (to Norway)	extant	uncertain
Brazil	extant	native			yes
Chile	extant	native			yes
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	extant	native			yes
French Southern Territories	extant	native		yes
Heard Island and McDonald Islands (to Australia)	extant	uncertain
High Seas	extant	native			yes
Mozambique	extant	uncertain
Namibia	extant	uncertain
New Zealand	extant	native		yes
Norfolk Island (to Australia)	extant	uncertain
Réunion (to France)	extant	vagrant
South Africa	extant	native		yes
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands	extant	native		yes
Uruguay	extant	native			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
French Southern Territories	Baie Larose
French Southern Territories	Île aux Cochons
French Southern Territories	Île de l'Est
French Southern Territories	Île de la Possession
French Southern Territories	Île des Pingouins
French Southern Territories	Île Foch, Île Sainte Lanne Gramont and Île Howe
French Southern Territories	Îles des Apôtres
French Southern Territories	Îles Leygues
French Southern Territories	Îles Nuageuses and Île Clugny
French Southern Territories	Islands of the Golfe du Morbihan
French Southern Territories	Péninsule Courbet
French Southern Territories	Péninsule Rallier du Baty
High Seas	South Georgia Marine Protected Area Border North
New Zealand	Antipodes Islands
New Zealand	Chatham (offshore)
New Zealand	Chatham Islands (nearshore)
New Zealand	Forty Fours Motuhara
South Africa	Prince Edward Islands Special Nature Reserve
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands	South Georgia - mainland, islands, islets and stacks
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands	South Georgia Inner Marine
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands	South Georgia Outer Marine

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subantarctic	major	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/northern-giant-petrel-macronectes-halli on 26/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 26/11/2024.