Short-tailed Shearwater

Puffinus tenuirostrisOrder: PROCELLARIIFORMESFamily: Petrels and Shearwaters (Procellariidae)

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

Short-tailed Shearwater

Short-tailed Shearwater: Medium shearwater with dark brown body and occasional traces of white in the center of upperwings. Bill is short and dark. Feet are dark gray and trail slightly behind tail in flight. Tail is rounded. Alternates strong flaps with long glides, often soars for long periods.

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Short-tailed Shearwater: Feeds on krill and small fish; usually forages at surface, but sometimes plunge dives for food.

● Breeding & nesting: Short-tailed Shearwater: One white egg is laid in a leaf-lined chamber at the end of a burrow. Incubation ranges from 52 to 55 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Short-tailed Shearwater: Sooty Shearwater has a slightly longer bill and more pronounced white under the wings. 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.

^BreedingColonial

^PopulationYes but uncommon, Abundant on breeding grounds

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight19.2 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America
Bird name:

Field Guide to Birds of North America