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  4. Shearwaters

Species group · Birds

Shearwaters

WAnimals has 5 species of shearwater, in the family Procellariidae.

5 species
1 family
41 countries
49 parks
Weight
340 g – 956 g
Length
30 cm – 56 cm
Lifespan
25 – 40 years

Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 5.

All 5 species of shearwaters on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Balearic ShearwaterCritically Endangered

Balearic Shearwater

Puffinus mauretanicus

8 countries14 parks
Manx ShearwaterLeast Concern

Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinus

17 countries20 parks
Scopoli's ShearwaterLeast Concern

Scopoli's Shearwater

Calonectris diomedea

30 countries5 parks
Yelkouan ShearwaterVulnerable

Yelkouan Shearwater

Puffinus yelkouan

27 countries22 parks
Critically Endangered

Newell's Shearwater

Puffinus newelli

1 country1 park

Conservation status

2 Critically Endangered2 Least Concern1 Vulnerable

3 species in this group are in a threatened category according to the IUCN.

Where they live

Recorded in 41 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

  • France4
  • Morocco4
  • Portugal4
  • Spain4
  • Gibraltar3
  • Ireland3
  • United Kingdom3
  • Albania2
  • Algeria2
  • Bulgaria2
  • Croatia2
  • Cyprus2
  • Egypt2
  • Georgia2
  • Greece2
  • Israel2
  • Italy2
  • Lebanon2
  • Libya2
  • Malta2
  • Monaco2
  • Montenegro2
  • Netherlands2
  • Palestine2

Where to see them

  • Calanques3 species
  • Port-Cros3 species
  • Alonissos and the Northern Sporades2 species
  • Cabo de Gata-Níjar2 species
  • Cabrera Archipelago2 species
  • Cíes Islands2 species
  • Ebro Delta2 species
  • Majjistral Park2 species
  • Pembrokeshire Coast2 species
  • Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina2 species
  • Urdaibai2 species
  • Acadia1 species

Did you know…?

  • The most threatened seabird in Europe; it breeds only in the Balearics.

    From Balearic Shearwater

  • It is one of the most threatened seabirds in Europe, breeding almost entirely in the Balearic Islands, with a small world population.

    From Balearic Shearwater

  • It is a strict Spanish endemic: every colony in the world is in the Balearics, and Spain is therefore directly responsible for the future of the species.

    From Balearic Shearwater

  • One documented bird reached 50.9 years of age, an exceptional lifespan.

    From Manx Shearwater

  • Left behind by its parents, the chick loses weight on its own for over a week before it first takes to the air.

    From Manx Shearwater

  • The English word "puffin" originally belonged to this bird and was later transferred to the seabird that carries it today, because the two nest in much the same way.

    From Manx Shearwater

  • Its night-time call at the colonies is a guttural moaning likened to a baby crying or a cat mewing, and on several Mediterranean islands it has fed legends of tormented souls on the cliffs.

    From Scopoli's Shearwater

  • The chicks that leave the nest in autumn are disorientated by artificial lights and come down on roads and in villages: in the Canaries and the Balearics, rescue campaigns are organised every year to collect thousands of young shearwaters and return them to the sea.

    From Scopoli's Shearwater

Ecosystems

  • Islands5
  • Ocean5
  • Mountain1

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