Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris) Length: 13 to 14 inches. Eggs: 1. Nest: At the end of a 5-foot tunnel, in large colonies. Incubation: 50 to 54 days. Fledging period: 70 to 75 days. Diet: Fish, crustaceans, squid, floating offal. Habitat: Inshore and offshore marine waters. The Short-tailed Shearwater looks completely dark from a distance but it often has a whitish throat and plain gray linings to its wings. It has black eyes and a slender, hooked, black bill. Most of the activity around the nesting sites takes place at night in order to protect themselves and their young from attack by gulls. The Short-tailed Shearwater is not a known breeder but is considered common in spring, summer and fall in Southwestern Alaska. Any winter sightings would be considered casual or accidental. It is listed as rare in summer and fall in the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. It is listed as present on Birds for Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata) Length: 8 to 9 inches. Eggs: 1, dull white with black specks around the large end. Nest: Grass lined chamber at end of a burrow or in a crevice, in colonies. Incubation: 46 to 51 days. Fledging period: 51 to 61 days. Diet: Fish and crustaceans, floating carcasses. Habitat: Open ocean waters. Habit: Go to nesting burrows only at night. The Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel is pearl gray with a white forehead and stomach. It is the only pale petrel to inhabit the Pacific Ocean. It has a dainty hooked bill, long wings and a forked tail. It hovers and flutters over the water when feeding. It flies in the troughs of waves rather than at the crest. It is a sea bird that is usually seen from land only during stormy weather. The Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel is a known breeder and considered common in spring, summer, and fall but rare in winter in Southwestern Alaska. It is listed as present on Bird for Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) Length: 7½ to 9 inches. Eggs: 1, white, stained, may be marked with reddish wreath. Nest: At the end of a long tunnel dug in a bank or grassy slope. Male digs the tunnel with his feet. Incubation: 38 to 46 days. Fledging period: 63 to 70 days. Diet: Fish, squid, crustaceans skimmed from surface of water. Habitat: Open ocean. Leach’s Storm-Petrel is a predominantly dark brown to black sea bird with a white rump and some white in its wings. It is active only at night and then not so active on a moonlit night. Leach’s Storm-Petrel is a known breeder and considered uncommon in spring but common in summer and fall in Southwestern Alaska. It is listed as rare in the spring only in the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) Length: 40 inches. Wingspan: 90 inches. Eggs: 1, white. Nest: Of twigs and sticks, lined with grass, in dense thicket. Incubation: 50 days. Fledging period: 170 days. Diet: Jellyfish, crustaceans, offal. Habitat: Islands with low trees and shrubs. The male Magnificent Frigatebird is glossy black with a red throat pouch, which he inflates when in courtship display. The female is dark brown and lacks the red throat pouch. She has white on her belly and a light gray, severely hooked bill. Both male and female have long forked tails and long narrow wings. The Magnificent Frigatebird is considered casual or accidental in all parts of Alaska. It is listed as rare in spring in the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.