Hutton's Shearwater vs Mediterranean Shearwater

Hutton's Shearwater

Puffinus huttoni

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The bird's name commemorates Frederick Hutton, a former curator of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand. A medium-sized (350 g) seabird, with a 75 cm wingspan, it is brown with a white underbelly and brown collar, dark borders to the underwing, dark grey bill, and pinkish dark-webbed feet. It can be distinguished from the fluttering shearwater by its dark grey "armpits". At a breeding colony it has a loud cackling call.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: M Rutherford · CC BY 4.0

Mediterranean Shearwater

Puffinus yelkouan

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The yelkouan shearwaters is 30–35 cm (12–14 in) in length and has a wingspan of 70–84 cm (28–33 in). 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 wing held at right angles to the body, and it changes from very dark brown to white as the dark upperparts and paler undersides are alternately exposed as it travels low over the sea.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Julien Renoult · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Hutton's Shearwater and Mediterranean Shearwater.