General

Cape Verde Shearwater: Medium to large seabird with tan-brown upperparts and white underparts. The front, tail, and wings are dark brown and the back has a scalloped appearance. Bill is light pink with dark ring near the tip and the legs and feet are pink. It has a medium length tail and long wings.

Range and Habitat

Cape Verde Shearwater: This species breeds on rocky islands in the Cape Verde Archipelago off the West African coast and feeds in pelagic waters near the same island group. Vagrants have occurred a few times in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of eastern North America from New Jersey south to North Carolina.

Breeding and Nesting

Cape Verde Shearwater: A single white egg is placed on the ground under a boulder or in sheltered sites on cliffs. The female incubates the egg for 50 days and the nest is visited at night to avoid predatory gulls.

Foraging and Feeding

Cape Verde Shearwater: Feeds on fish, squid, and other small sea creatures by picking them from the surface or just under the surface of the water.

Vocalization

Cape Verde Shearwater: Silent at sea but gives cackling calls on its breeding grounds.

Similar Species

Cape Verde Shearwater: Greater Shearwater has dark cap, darker upperparts, dark mark on belly, and white uppertail coverts. Cory's Shearwater is larger, heavier, and lacks a dark ring on its bill.