Least ConcernRareFishMarineCavity nestMedium · 214 g
About the Tropical Shearwater
The tropical shearwater is a seabird in the family Procellariidae formerly considered conspecific with Audubon's shearwater.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Regular rangeRare visitor
Réunion
Seychelles
French Polynesia
Tonga
Palau
Vanuatu
Kiribati
Micronesia
Fiji
Mauritius
Maldives
Solomon Islands
Samoa
American Samoa
Sri Lanka
Cook Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
Comoros
Mozambique
Indonesia
Recorded as a rare visitor in South Africa, Taiwan, India, Mayotte, Japan, New Caledonia, Wallis & Futuna.
When to see it
JFMAMJJASOND
Peak activity in January · a summer visitor species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Little ShearwaterPuffinus assimilisThis shearwater has the typically "shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few beats, the wingtips almost touching the water, though in light winds it has a more flapping flight than that of its larger relatives.
Persian ShearwaterPuffinus persicusThe Persian shearwater is a seabird in the family Procellariidae formerly lumped in with Audubon's shearwater.
Barolo ShearwaterPuffinus baroliThe Barolo shearwater is visually similar to the Manx shearwater and other North Atlantic Puffinus, but can be distinguished by features such as a pale face with a darkly contrasting eye, a silvery panel in the upperwings, shorter more rounded wings, and blue feet.
Learn the Tropical Shearwater for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.