Audubon's Shearwater

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

Codes: Common Name: AUSH Scientific Name: PUFLHE ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174561

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Overview

Audubon's Shearwater: Small, stocky seabird with dark brown upperparts and white underparts. Underwing coverts are white. Tail is dark brown with short, gray undertail coverts. Bill is dark and legs and feet are pink. Fish and squid make up most of its diet. Alternates rapid wing beats with glides.

Range and Habitat

Audubon's Shearwater: Breeds on islands in tropical seas around the world. Wanders northward along the Gulf Stream from the Caribbean and Bermuda as far as the Carolinas and New England; spends most of its time on water.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

The Audubon’s Shearwater feeds in a variety of methods, both diving below the surface to chase prey, pursuit plunging, and surface feeding. Unlike other birds of its genus, it is not a ship follower.

Their twittering calls and mewing are often only heard at night in the breeding colonies.

They breed throughout the year and a successful pair can produce a chick about every 9-10 months.

A group of shearwaters are collectively known as an "improbability" of shearwaters.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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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.

Audubon's Shearwater

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Audubon's Shearwater: Feeds on fish and squid; forages by snatching prey from surface or plunge diving to depths of about six feet.

● Breeding & nesting: Audubon's Shearwater: One white egg is laid on the ground under a clump of dense vegetation or in a rock crevice. Both parents incubate the egg for about 51 days.

● Similar species: Audubon's Shearwater: Little Shearwater has more white on face and underwings, white undertail coverts, gray legs, and different flight pattern. Manx Shearwater is larger and has a different flight pattern, with more soaring and less flapping.

Flight Pattern

Flap and glide flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Audubon's Shearwater: Breeds on islands in tropical seas around the world. Wanders northward along the Gulf Stream from the Caribbean and Bermuda as far as the Carolinas and New England; spends most of its time on water.

^BreedingColonial

^PopulationDeclining

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight5.9 Ounces

Gull-like Body

Underparts

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

Undertail coverts

Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

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