Fluttering Shearwater
Puffinus gavia
This is a medium to small-sized shearwater with a dark-brown-and-white body. The upper parts, including neck, wings and tail, are uniformly dark brown. The face and neck have a grey-brown colour gradually fading into white below the eye. The under body, from chin to the under-tail, is white except for a dark thigh patch that can be seen in flight. The bottom wing is commonly white while the axillary area is covered in grey-brown fur. Under light conditions, the appearance is different.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Manx Shearwater
Puffinus puffinus
The Manx shearwater is 30–38 cm (12–15 in) with a 76–89 cm (30–35 in) wingspan and weighs 350–575 g (12+1⁄2–20+1⁄2 oz). It has the typically "shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few wingbeats, the wingtips almost touching the water. This bird looks like a flying cross, with its wings held at right angles to the body, and it changes from black to white as the black upper parts and white under sides are alternately exposed as it travels low over the sea. Voice: This shearwater is mainly silent at sea, even when birds are gathered off the breeding colonies. It calls on its nocturnal visits to the nesting burrows in flight, on the ground, and in the burrows, although moonlight depresses the amount of calling.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Fluttering Shearwater and Manx Shearwater.