Distribution
There are colonies on a number of the islands around Antarctica such as the South Sandwich Islands, South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, Bouvet Island and Peter I Island. The bird also breeds at several sites along the mainland coast of Antarctica.
At sea, it mainly occurs along the outer edge of the pack ice in summer with water temperatures of -1.5 to 0.5°C. In winter, it regularly ranges north to around 40°S. It occurs further north in the cool waters of the Humboldt Current, reaching Peru. Small numbers are seen off the coasts of South Africa, southern Australia and New Zealand. Many birds can be washed up on beaches after storms. There are several unconfirmed reports from the west coast of North America.
It is a common species with a population of at least 4 million individuals. About a million pairs breed on the South Sandwich Islands alone. The species is not thought to be at risk of extinction and is classed as Least Concern by Birdlife International.
Read more about this topic: Southern Fulmar
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