The fairy prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath. The sexes are alike. It is a small prion which frequents the low subantarctic and subtropic seas.
Region
Southern Ocean and South Pacific
Typical Environment
Occurs widely in temperate and subantarctic waters around New Zealand, southeastern Australia, and across the southern Pacific. Breeds on offshore and subantarctic islands, including the Chatham, Snares, Antipodes, and islands in Bass Strait and around Tasmania. At sea it is highly pelagic, frequenting shelf edges, upwelling zones, and oceanic fronts where plankton is concentrated. Nests in burrows or crevices among coastal turf, tussock, and rocky slopes, often on predator-free islands.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 300 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Fairy prions are small pelagic petrels noted for the dark 'M' pattern across their blue‑grey upperwings and their white underparts. Their bill has comb-like lamellae that help filter tiny crustaceans from the surface. They breed colonially in burrows on offshore islands and are mostly active at colonies at night. Often confused with other prions, they are among the most numerous seabirds of the cool southern oceans.
Illustration of the features of the fairy prion's head and beak, 1888
Fairy piron off the coast of the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
buoyant flier with quick fluttering wingbeats and low glides over waves
Social Behavior
Strongly colonial breeder, nesting in dense burrow colonies where pairs are largely monogamous. Both adults share incubation of a single egg and chick rearing. Visits to colonies are mostly nocturnal, likely to avoid predation. Outside the breeding season, birds disperse widely at sea and may gather in mixed-species flocks.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
At colonies they give soft cooing and chattering calls, often a rolling, trilling series heard at night. Flight calls at sea are quieter and infrequent, with contact notes exchanged between mates near burrow entrances.
Plumage
Blue-grey upperparts with a dark 'M' across the back and upperwings; clean white underparts and underwing with a narrow dark margin.
Diet
Feeds primarily on small planktonic crustaceans such as copepods and amphipods, as well as krill, small squid, and occasional small fish. Captures prey by surface-seizing, pattering, and shallow dipping. Uses its lamellate bill to strain tiny prey from slicks and convergences. Often forages in scattered flocks and associates with fronts where prey aggregates.
Preferred Environment
Open oceanic waters, especially along shelf breaks, fronts, and upwelling zones with high plankton productivity. Near breeding islands, it forages over nearby coastal waters but ranges widely when conditions require.
