Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Puffinus pacificusOrder: PROCELLARIIFORMES Family: Petrels and Shearwaters (Procellariidae)

Codes: Common Name: WTSH Scientific Name: PUFPAC ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174550

Breeding Location:

Islands, grassy

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Accidental in North America

Egg Color:

White, nest stained

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

48 - 56

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with plant material.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Large shearwater, dark brown overall with black-tipped, dark gray bill. Light morph has gray-brown head and upperparts, underparts are mostly white with brown mottling. Tail is long and pointed in flight but fans to wedge-shaped when banking turns or landing. Legs and feet are pink. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Breeds widely in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Pelagic, comes ashore only to breed.

Breeding and Nesting

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: One white egg is laid in a burrow lined with plant material. Incubation ranges from 48 to 56 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Feeds during the day on larval forms of goatfish, mackerel, scad, and flying squid driven to the surface by schools of predatory fish (e.g., skipjack tuna).

Vocalization

Wedge-tailed Shearwater: Silent at sea; on breeding grounds gives a mournful wailing "ka-woooo-er."

Similar Species

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Flesh-footed Shearwater has dull pink bill and short, rounded tail. Short-tailed Shearwater is brown-black overall with short, black bill and gray-black legs and feet.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Large shearwater, dark brown overall with black-tipped, dark gray bill. Tail is long and pointed in flight and extends past the pink legs and feet, fans to wedge-shaped when banking turns or landing. The dark morph form is most often seen off the Pacific Coast.

● Song: "ka-woooo-er"

● Foraging & Feeding: Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Feeds during the day on larval forms of goatfish, mackerel, scad, and flying squid driven to the surface by schools of predatory fish (e.g., skipjack tuna).

● Breeding & nesting: Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: One white egg is laid in a burrow lined with plant material. Incubation ranges from 48 to 56 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph: Flesh-footed Shearwater has dull pink bill and short, rounded tail. Short-tailed Shearwater is brown-black overall with short, black bill and gray-black legs and feet.

Flight Pattern

Soaring with slow flapping wing beats followed by upward glide.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Dark Morph Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: 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

^Weight13.7 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Pelagic

The pelagic is a type of bird whose habitat is on the open ocean rather than in a coastal region or on inland bodies of water (lakes, rivers). An example of a pelagic bird is the blacklegged kittiwake.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America