Fluttering Shearwater vs Sargasso Shearwater

Fluttering Shearwater

Puffinus gavia

Medium229 gMarine

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

Photo: Natewilbournee · CC0

Sargasso Shearwater

Puffinus lherminieri

Medium193 gMarine

The Sargasso shearwater is on average 30 cm (12 in) in length—about half the size of the great shearwater (Puffinus gravis)—and weigh 170 g. There is some variation between populations, and the normal size and weight range is 30–33 cm (12–13 in) and 150–230 g (5.3–8.1 oz). The wingspan is 64 to 72 centimetres (25 to 28 in), the tail is around 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in) long, the exposed culmen measures 3 centimetres (1.2 in) or slightly less, and the tarsus is around 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in length.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ashwin Srinivasan · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Fluttering Shearwater and Sargasso Shearwater.