Pāngurunguru

Pāngurunguru | Southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus)

Pāngurunguru | Southern giant petrel, Falkland Islands. Photo by Peter Prokosch via GRID-Arendal (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr

Call

Southern Giant petrel call can be found on NZ Birds Online.

Where is home?

Soaring around the globe at the latitudes between north of Aotearoa to Antarctica.

How are they doing?

Not Threatened.
Vulnerable to bycatch, entanglement, and ocean pollution.

What are they known for?

• The pāngurunguru has some unglamorous alternate names including: stinker, stinkpot, glutton, and sea vulture. The first two can be attributed to their defensive skill of squirting a foul-smelling oily substance from their stomach at foes.

• Giant petrels are predators and scavengers, feeding on smaller birds (including penguin and albatross chicks), fish, and squid as well as scavenging penguin, seal, and whale carrion. 

• Giant petrels are monogamous. Courtship includes fencing and ‘kissing’ with their bills, and both parents care for their chick.

Pāngurunguru connections

• Watch this pūrakau (story/legend) about the great battle between the land and sea birds of Aotearoa New Zealand 

• The name of the pāngurunguru is a reference to the bird's distinct vocalizations. In te reo Māori, the root word ngunguru means to "growl, grumble, or rumble". Giant petrels are notoriously noisy around food, producing a series of low growls, hisses, and whinnying noises when threatened or competing for a meal.

Southern Giant Petrel on NZ Birds Online