It breeds on the coast of Antarctica and on surrounding islands, moving north in winter.

[4][5] The genus name comes from the Old Norse Fúlmár meaning "foul-mew" or "foul-gull" because of the birds' habit of ejecting a foul-smelling oil.

[5] Molecular data suggests that the two fulmar species diverged during the Pleistocene epoch.

[7] The bird flies with a mixture of shallow flaps and long glides, often looking down to scan the water.

The wingtips are blackish with a large white patch and the wings have a dark rear edge.

[10] At sea, it mainly occurs along the outer edge of the pack ice in summer with water temperatures of −1.5 to 0.5 °C.

The courtship display consists of a pair sitting alongside each other while calling, waving their heads and nibbling and preening each other.

The second set of down feathers is grey on the upperparts and flanks while the rest of the underparts and the forehead remain white.

Poor weather can lead to high mortality rates among eggs and chicks and they are also preyed on by skuas and sheathbills.

[7] Southern fulmars frequently gather in flocks, often with other species of seabird such as Cape petrels, when there is a concentration of food like a school of krill or around whaling ships and trawlers.

Krill and other crustaceans are the most important component of the diet but the species also feeds on small fish such as the Antarctic silverfish and squid such as Psychroteuthis, Gonatus and Galiteuthis.