Manx Shearwater

• One documented bird reached 50.9 years of age, an exceptional lifespan.
• Left behind by its parents, the chick loses weight on its own for over a week before it first takes to the air.
• 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.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Oceanic islands of the North Atlantic, nesting in burrows and spending most of its life at sea

Birth weight

45 grams

Size at birth

Altricial, staying in the underground burrow and fed by its parents for some two months

Sexual maturity

5-6 years

Gestation / incubation

47-66 days

Litter / clutch size

1 egg per clutch

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info) · Animal Spot · Animalia.bio · Madeira Birds · Audubon Field Guide · Bird Spot · Wikipedia (Manx shearwater)

Best time: From March to September at the colonies in Wales, Ireland and Iceland, and passing off the Iberian coast; it winters in the South Atlantic.

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.