Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point heath, and for being of considerable ornithological interest; especially for passage migrants. The southern section, Tol Pedn or Gwennap Head, in particular is favoured by birdwatchers and many travel the length and breadth of Britain to track rare seabirds. The headland is renowned for its relative abundance of passing marine bird species with many common species such as northern gannet ("Morus bassanus"), Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus"), common guillemot, ("Uria aalge"), razorbill ("Alca torda"), northern fulmar ("Fulmarus glacialis"), shag ("Phalacrocorax aristotelis") and cormorant ("Phalacrocorax carbo"). Forty-five breeding species have been recorded including the red-billed choughs ("Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax") which have recently been
Procellariidae been implicated in (but not proved to have caused) the expansion in range of the northern fulmar in the Atlantic. Three of the six prion species have bills filled with lamellae, which act as filters to sift zooplankton from the water. Water is forced through the lamellae and small prey items are collected. This technique is often used in conjunction with a method known as hydroplaning where the bird dips its bill beneath the surface and propels itself forward with wings and feet as if walking on the water. Many of the shearwaters in the genus "Puffinus" and "Ardenna" are