This is a list of Procellariiformes species by global population. While numbers are estimates, they have been made by the experts in their fields. For more information on how these estimates were ascertained, see Wikipedia's articles on population biology and population ecology.
The IOC World Bird List (version 15.1) recognizes 149 species of Procellariiformes, two of which are extinct. As of January 2026, IUCN/BirdLife International have assessed 144 members, and provided population estimates for 143 members of the order. While not all Procellariiformes have population estimates, species with unknown populations are listed in a secondary table below.
This list follows IUCN classifications for species names and taxonomy. Where IUCN classifications differ from other ornithological authorities, alternative names and taxonomies are noted.
Two members of Procellariiformes are extinct:
St. Helena petrel, or large St. Helena petrel (Pterodroma rupinarum) - last seen in 1502. Olson's petrel, or small St. Helena petrel (Bulweria bifax) - last seen in 1502.
Species by global population Common nameBinomial namePopulationStatusTrendNotesImage Fiji petrel Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi 1-49 Maximum estimate. Guadalupe storm petrel Hydrobates macrodactylus 1-49 ? Maximum estimate; may be extinct. Jamaican petrel Pterodroma caribbaea 1-49 ? Maximum estimate; may be extinct. Last confirmed observation in 1879. New Zealand storm petrel Fregetta maoriana 1-49 ? Still seen in small numbers, as recently as 2013. Rapa shearwaterPuffinus myrtae50-249Total population is estimated to be 75-375 individuals.Bryan's shearwaterPuffinus bryani50-249Total population is estimated to be 70-380 individuals. Beck's petrel Pseudobulweria becki 50-249 Rediscovered in 2007. Total population is estimated to be 70-400 individuals. Magenta petrel Pterodroma magentae 80-100 Total population is estimated to be 150-200 individuals. Amsterdam albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis 92 46 total nesting pairs. Mascarene petrelPseudobulweria aterrima100-200Population is most likely near the lower end of this estimate. Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeira 160 Total population is estimated to be 200 individuals. Bermuda petrel Pterodroma cahow 196 98 total nesting pairs.Whenua Hou diving-petrelPelecanoides whenuahouensis200Value given is estimated total number of adults.New Caledonian storm petrelFregetta lineata200-2,000?Species is very poorly known. Values are a best guess. Townsend's shearwater Puffinus auricularis 250-999 Total population is estimated to be 375-1,499 individuals. Heinroth's shearwater Puffinus heinrothi 250-999 Total population is estimated to be 375-1,499 individuals. Monteiro's storm petrel Hydrobates monteiroi 250-999 Total population is estimated to be 375-1,499 individuals.Desertas petrelPterodroma deserta250-999Total population is estimated to be 350-1,500 individuals. Collared petrel Pterodroma brevipes 670-6,700 Total population is estimated to be 1,000-10,000 individuals. Polynesian storm petrel Nesofregetta fuliginosa 1,000-1,600 Total population is estimated to be 1,500-2,400 individuals. Cape Verde petrel (Fea's petrel)Pterodroma feae 1,000-2,000 ? Total population is estimated to be 1,500-3,000 individuals.Black-capped petrelPterodroma hasitata1,000-2,000Total population is estimated to be 2,000-4,000 individuals. Chatham Islands petrel Pterodroma axillaris 1,100 Total population is estimated to be 1,400 individuals. Short-tailed albatross Phoebastria albatrus 1,734 Total population is estimated to be 4,200 individuals. Pincoya storm petrelOceanites pincoyae2,000?Total population is estimated to be 3,000 individuals. Trindade petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana 2,260 White-winged petrel (Gould's petrel)Pterodroma leucoptera 2,000-14,000 Total population is estimated to be 3,000-21,000 individuals.Townsend's storm petrelHydrobates socorroensis2,500-9,999Ainley's storm petrelHydrobates cheimomnestes2,500-9,999 Jouanin's petrel Bulweria fallax 2,500-9,999 ? Tristan albatross Diomedea dabbenena 3,400-4,800 Total population is estimated to be 5,200-7,300 individuals. Ashy storm petrel Hydrobates homochroa 3,500-6,700 Total population is estimated to be 5,200-10,000 individuals. Black petrel Procellaria parkinsoni 5,500 Total population is estimated to be and 11,000 individuals. Masatierra petrel Pterodroma defilippiana 5,554 Total population is expected to be less than 10,000 individuals. Galápagos petrel Pterodroma phaeopygia 6,000-15,000 Total population is estimated to be 10,000-19,999 individuals.Magellanic diving petrelPelecanoides magellani6,700-330,000Total population is estimated to "number tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals." Hawaiian petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis 7,500-16,600 Westland petrel Procellaria westlandica 7,900-13,700 ? Newell's shearwater Puffinus newelli 10,000-19,999 Total population is estimated to be, at maximum, 27,000 individuals. Tahiti petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata 10,000-19,999 Total population is estimated to be 20,000-30,000 individuals. Persian shearwaterPuffinus persicus>10,000 Chatham albatross Thalassarche eremita 11,000 Total population is estimated to be 16,000 individuals. Pycroft's petrel Pterodroma pycrofti 12,000-22,000 Total population is estimated to be 30,000-40,000 individuals. Cape Verde shearwater Calonectris edwardsii 13,800 Total population is estimated to be 24,000 individuals.Cape Verde storm petrelHydrobates jabejabe15,500-67,500 Northern royal albatross Diomedea sanfordi 17,000 Total population is estimated to be 25,000-26,000 individuals. Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus 19,000 Total population is estimated to be 25,000 individuals. Spectacled petrel Procellaria conspicillata 20,000 Total population is estimated to be 31,000-45,000 individuals. Tristram's storm petrel Hydrobates tristrami 20,000 Maximum estimate. Total population is estimated to be 30,000 individuals. Phoenix petrel Pterodroma alba 20,000-30,000 Preliminary estimate. Matsudaira's storm petrel Hydrobates matsudairae >20,000 ? Per BirdLife International, species is described as "not especially rare in the Indian Ocean, suggesting that the global population numbers a minimum of 20,000 individuals". Snowy albatross (Wandering albatross)Diomedea exulans 20,100 Sooty albatross Phoebetria fusca 21,234-28,656 Estimate comes from a count of 10,617 - 14,328 breeding pairs. Northern giant petrel Macronectes halli 23,600 Southern royal albatross Diomedea epomophora 27,200 Shy albatross Thalassarche cauta 29,800-33,400 Best estimate for number of mature individuals is 31,600. Barau's petrel Pterodroma baraui 30,000-40,000 Audubon's shearwater (Sargasso shearwater)Puffinus lherminieri 30,000-59,000 Note that IOC taxonomy splits an additional species, Boyd's shearwater, from this species (IOC splits from Barolo shearwater, which is maintained by IUCN as a subsepcies of little shearwater). IUCN/BirdLife International maintain both species within P. lherminieri. White-vented storm petrel (Elliot's storm petrel)Oceanites gracilis >30,000 ? Values given are for total population. Yelkouan shearwater Puffinus yelkouan 30,674-60,038 Estimate comes from a reported 15,337-30,519 pairs; estimated total population is 46,000-92,000 individuals. However, this may be an underestimate given counts of 75,000-90,000 individuals during migration through the Bosporus Strait as recently as 2015. Waved albatrossPhoebastria irrorata34,694Value given is the most recent estimate for total population, from 2001. It is likely the population is now smaller.Galápagos shearwaterPuffinus subalaris35,000 Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos 35,000-73,500 Henderson petrelPterodroma atrata39,974Estimate is based on 19,987 pairs.Campbell albatrossThalassarche impavida43,296MacGillivray's prionPachyptila macgillivrayi48,300-2,421,480Best estimate for number of mature individuals is 350,000, based on an estimated 175,000 pairs. 95% confidence interval is very large. Antipodean albatross Diomedea antipodensis 50,000 Maximum estimate, given steep declines over past two decades. Buller's albatrossThalassarche bulleri50,000-99,999 Light-mantled albatross Phoebetria palpebrata 58,000 Total population is estimated to be 87,000 individuals. Pink-footed shearwater Ardenna creatopus 59,146 ? Total population may be as high as 150,000 individuals. Swinhoe's storm petrel Hydrobates monorhis 65,000-260,000 Providence petrel Pterodroma solandri 66,500-100,000 Best estimate for number of mature individuals is 83,000. Salvin's albatross Thalassarche salvini 79,990 ? Total population is estimated to be 110,000 individuals. Indian yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche carteri 82,000 Total population is estimated to be 160,000 individuals. Southern giant petrel Macronectes giganteus 95,600-108,000 Total population is estimated to be 150,000 individuals. White-necked petrel Pterodroma cervicalis 100,000 Total population is estimated to be 150,000 individuals. Note that IOC taxonomy splits an additional species, the Vanuatu petrel, from this species.
IUCN/BirdLife International maintain both species within P. cervicalis.Peruvian diving petrelPelecanoides garnotii100,000 Fluttering shearwater Puffinus gavia >100,000 Value is for total population. Least storm petrelHydrobates microsoma>100,000Total population is estimated "to number hundreds of thousands of individuals, possibly millions." Markham's storm petrel Hydrobates markhami 100,000-120,000 Total population is estimated to be 150,000-180,000 individuals. Fulmar prion Pachyptila crassirostris 100,000-200,000 Total population is estimated to be 150,000-300,000 individuals. Little shearwater Puffinus assimilis 100,000-499,999 Total population is estimated to be 300,000-750,000 individuals. Note that IOC taxonomy splits an additional species, the Barolo shearwater, from this species.