Watching pelagic birds There are about 20 species of pelagic birds annually migrating to the coastal waters of Sri Lanka . This includes interesting species in Indian Ocean such as Barau’s Petrel, Jouanin’s Petrel, Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel, etc. We organize off shore boat trips to watch these species, on request. Please see ‘ Table 2 ‘ below for the list of pelagic birds found off Sri Lanka. For more information.
Barau’s Petrel – Pterodroma baraui | Rare | Reguler |
Bulwer’s Petrel – Bulweria bulwerii | Rare | Reguler |
Jouanin’s Petrel – Bulweria fallax | Rare | Reguler |
Wedge-tailed Shearwater – Puffinus pacificus | Common | Reguler |
Flesh-footed Shearwater – Puffinus carneipes | Common | Reguler |
Short-tailed Shearwater – Puffinus tenuirostris | Rare | |
Persian Shearwater – Puffinus persicus | Uncommon | Reguler |
Wilson’s Storm-petrel – Oceanites oceanicus | Common | Reguler |
Swinhoe’s Storm-petrel – Oceanodroma monorhis | Rare | Reguler |
White-tailed Tropicbird – Phaethon lepturus | Rare | Reguler |
Red-billed Tropicbird – Phaethon aethereus | Common | Reguler |
Masked Booby – Sula dactylatra | Uncommon | Reguler |
Brown Booby – Sula leucogaster | Uncommon | Reguler |
Red-footed Booby – Sula sula | Rare | |
Lesser Frigatebird – Fregata ariel | Uncommon | Reguler |
Great Frigatebird – Fregata minor | Uncommon | Reguler |
Christmas Frigatebird – Fregata andrewsi | Rare | |
Brown Skua – Catharacta antarctica | Uncommon | Reguler |
South Polar Skua – Catharacta maccormicki | Rare | |
Pomarine Jaeger – Stercorarius pomarinus | Uncommon | Reguler |
Long-tailed Skua – Stercorarius longicaudus | Uncommon | Reguler |