Wedge-tailed Shearwater

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia. It ranges across from throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds in islands such as off Japan, the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles and off Western Australia.

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is a pelagic seabird of the tropical and subtropical Pacific and Indian Oceans. The wailing sounds that shearwaters make sitting in or near their burrows during the night have given rise to their Hawaiian name, which means “calling or moaning petrel.” Characteristically, this species nests on small islands, laying its single white egg in a burrow in the ground. It is a dusky brown bird with a musky odor to its feathers; white breast-feathers are visible in some forms. More

FIRST RECORD OF THE WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER IN CALIFORNIA STALLCUP, RICHARD, JOSEPH MORLAN, DON ROBERSON The following article is the first in a series on California rarities to be edited by Joseph Morion and Don Roberson. It is based on materials submitted to the California Bird Records Committee (CBRC). The description and cir- cumstances were drawn from the accounts of the observers and have been reviewed by them. Roberson prepared the distributional summary; Morlan prepared the identification summary. More

A SECOND WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER IN CALIFORNIA MCCASKIE, GUY, RICHARD E. WEBSTER GUY McCASKIE, 954 Grove Street, Imperial Beach, California 92032 RICHARD E. WEBSTER, 771 Gage Drive, San Diego, California 92106 On 31 July 1988 we started a day of birding at the mouth of the Whitewater River at the north end of the Salton Sea, Riverside County. At about 0630 we waded across the rivermouth to check the area to the west of the river. More

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia. It ranges across from throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds in islands such as off Japan, the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles and off Western Australia. More

Wedge-tailed Shearwater photographed on Monterey Bay, Monterey County, 26 September 1999. More

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is the largest of tropical shearwaters. It may also be called the Muttonbird at times. Ranges for this species include tropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Breeding habitats of this bird are found on islands off of Japan, the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles and Western Australia islands. Diets of the Wedge-tailed Shearwater typically consist of fish, squid and crustaceans. More

electronic tags on wedge-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) at sites throughout the western Indian Ocean. These tags, or geolocators, collect data on light level that can be used to determine the position of the bird at sea. Basically, the time of local noon is used to determine longitude, and latitude is estimated by local day length. The tags are attached to a metal ring on the bird’s tarsus using a plastic zip-tie (see photo). More

Wedge-tailed Shearwater has a noticeably longer tail. Flight Pattern Purposeful strong flaps followed by long glides., Soars on brisk winds. Short-tailed Shearwater Body Illustration● Range & Habitat: Short-tailed Shearwater: Breeds on coasts and islands of southeastern Australia. Summer visitor to Pacific Coast of North America, from Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands south to California; rare south of British Columbia. Pelagic, comes ashore only to breed. More

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Breeds widely in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Pelagic, comes ashore only to breed. BreedingMonogamous, Colonial PopulationAccidental in North America MigrationMigratory Weight13. More

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater breeds in colonies on small tropical islands. Breeding seasons vary depending on location, with synchronised breeding seasons more common at higher latitudes. Northern hemisphere birds begin breeding around February, southern hemisphere birds begin around September. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters display natal philopatry, returning to their natal colony to begin breeding at the age of four. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are monogamous, forming a long term pair bond that lasts for several years. More

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is the largest of the tropical shearwaters. There are two colour morphs of the species, dark and pale; the pale morphs predominate in the North Pacific, the dark morph elsewhere. However, both morphs exist in all populations, and bear no relation to sex or breeding condition. The pale morph has grey-brown plumage on the back, head and upperwing, and whiter plumage below. The darker morph has the same dark grey-brown plumage over the whole body. More

Wedge-tailed Shearwater (intermediate morph)Description The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is the largest of the tropical shearwaters. There are two colour morphs of the species, dark and pale; the pale morphs predominate in the North Pacific, the dark morph elsewhere. However, both morphs exist in all populations, and bear no relation to sex or breeding condition. More

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is the largest of the tropical shearwaters with a slender body and long, wedge-shaped tail and hooked bill. It is a dusky brown bird with a musky odor to its feathers. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are polymorphic: There are light, dark, and intermediate forms. In Hawaii there are predominantly light-morphs, which are grayish brown above with white underparts except for dark edges on wings and dark undertail coverts. They have a dark slate-colored bill and flesh-colored legs. More

150 years, the wedge-tailed shearwater, Puffinus pacificus, has colonised the islands to varying degrees... 2007, Stewart, Annabelle Greer Environmental response to burrowing seabird colonies : a study in ecosystem engineering ...engineering actions of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus pacificus, in a Mediterranean island, heathland ecosystem... 2004, Bancroft, Wesley J. More

The wedge-tailed shearwaters in Hawaii are brownish-gray on their backs and tails and light gray on their chests. This bird is about the size of a pigeon. Wedge-tailed shearwaters can stay at sea for years. Their webbed feet make it possible for them to kick off from the surface of the water or from the crest of a wave. Another special feature of these shearwaters is called the tube nose, located at the base of the beak. More

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters feed pelagically on fish, squid and crustaceans. 66% of their diet is fish, of which the most commonly taken is goatfish. It was thought that the species mostly took food from surface feeding, observations of feeding Wedge-tails suggested that contact-dipping, where birds flying close to the surface snatch prey from the water was the most commonly used hunting technique. More

Wedge-tailed shearwater chick nestled in nest, Mo'omomi Preserve Join Our Habitat Restoration Efforts Donate Now Your support helps us to do the day-to-day work that it takes to restore the natural habitats of the wedge-tailed shearwaters and other native plant and animal species in Hawai'i. More

Wedge-tailed Shearwater © Chris Gomersall They pick their prey from the water surface or dive to catch it, using their wings and feet to propel themselves underwater. At night, they return to nesting colonies on land, making weird wailing noises as they fly in to land and throughout the night. They nest underground in burrows and under rocks, and suitable predator free islands are densely covered in shearwater burrows, Their young fat chicks were traditionally collected as food. More

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters feed during the day singly or in multi-species flocks. Consumes larval forms of goat fish, mackerel scad, and flying squid driven to the surface by schools of predatory fish. Wedge-tails breed widely in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In Hawaii, as many as 50,000 nest along the coasts of the main islands mostly on offshore islet in shallow burrows, one to two meters in length. Chicks hatch during July through late August. More

This series of photographs of the Wedge-tailed Shearwater was taken on the 09-26-99 Shearwater Journeys Monterey Bay pelagic trip, Monterey County, Northern California. Photos by: John Sorenson. May not be used without written permission from photographer. More