New Records of Vagrant Birds in the South Atlantic and in the Antarctic

The presence of some species out of their commonly known distribution areas may not be due to the occurrence of only one single factor but of several related ones such as storms, strong winds, droughts, and the migratory behaviour of some species. Records of birds far from their usual distribution area in the Antarctic and the South Atlantic Ocean have been re­ ported by many authors. The aim of this study is to contribute to observations of birds out of their normal distribution areas at the South Atlantic Ocean and Antarctica. Observations were made from ships, and some meteorological data for each observation were recorded as well. Species were classified into two groups: a) birds observed in their habitat which had moved from thenknown distribution area; b) birds observed in habitats ecologically different from their natural habitat.