Newell's Shearwater
Puffinus newelli
The Newell's Shearwater (Puffinus newelli) is a rare petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrel found in 2 countries, weighing about 351 g. Newell's shearwater or Hawaiian shearwater (ʻaʻo), is a seabird in the family Procellariidae.
About the Newell's Shearwater
Newell's shearwater or Hawaiian shearwater (ʻaʻo), is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater and is now often placed in Townsend's shearwater.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
It is a fairly small shearwater, 33 centimetres (13 in) in length. The wing is 223–249 millimetres (8.8–9.8 in) long and the tail is 78.9–88.8 millimetres (3.11–3.50 in). The bird weighs 0.340–0.425 kilograms (0.75–0.94 lb). The upperparts are black with a brown tinge while the underparts are white. The dark colouration on the face extends below the eye and is sharply separated from the white throat. There is a white patch on the flanks, extending onto the sides of the rump. The underwings are mainly white with a dark border.
When to see it
Best months: April, May, June, July, August, September, October, with peak activity in September. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Newell's Shearwater?
- It is a fairly small shearwater, 33 centimetres (13 in) in length. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Newell's Shearwater?
- The Newell's Shearwater is a large sized bird weighing about 351 g.
- Where can you see a Newell's Shearwater?
- The Newell's Shearwater occurs in 2 countries, including and undefined.
- What birds look similar to a Newell's Shearwater?
- The Newell's Shearwater is most easily confused with the Christmas Shearwater, the Barolo Shearwater and the Persian Shearwater.
- Is the Newell's Shearwater endangered?
- The Newell's Shearwater is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Newell's Shearwater for real
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