Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus diving on submerged carrion

We filmed Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus as they pursuit dived on a submerged Weddell Seal Leptonychotes weddellii carcass. We suggest that a floating oily slick produced by the decomposing carcass was the olfactory cue used by the birds to rediscover the carcass after it had become submerged in about three metres of water. Our results suggest that the foraging habitat of Southern Giant Petrels is broader than currently thought, especially in shallow-water coastal regions.