Mediterranean Shearwater vs Sargasso Shearwater

Mediterranean Shearwater

Puffinus yelkouan

Large497 gMarine

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

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: Mediterranean Shearwater and Sargasso Shearwater.