Flesh-footed Shearwater

Ardenna carneipes (Gould, 1844)

≈48 cmLength108 cmWingspan609 gWeight

This black shearwater has pale pink legs and feet and a pale bill with a black tip.

Busiest months: November · Most records: New Zealand, United States, Australia

Near Threatened

How to identify

Field marks

Feathers black
Legs and feet pale pink
Bill pale
Bill has a conspicuous black tip

Where and when it's recorded

Flesh-footed Shearwater has been recorded at 49 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Kaikoura – offshore – Albatross Encounter pelagicNew Zealand1,173 records
Poor Knights Shelf AreaNew Zealand520 records
Tutukaka To Poor KnightsNew Zealand401 records

More places

Cook Strait FerryNew Zealand306 records
Hauraki Gulf PelagicNew Zealand279 records
Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States170 records
Gulf Harbour to Tiritiri Matangi ferryNew Zealand130 records
Eaglehawk Neck Pelagic TripAustralia116 records
Tiritiri MatangiNew Zealand102 records
Pt. Pinos – seawatch onlyUnited States51 records

Countries and regions with the most records

New Zealand United States Australia Sri Lanka Norfolk Island Japan China South Korea

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The flesh-footed shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), also called sable shearwater or toanui, is a medium-large shearwater that mainly inhabits the Indo-Pacific. Together with the equally light-billed pink-footed shearwater, it forms the Hemipuffinus group, a superspecies which may or may not have an Atlantic relative in the great shearwater. These large shearwaters are among those that have been separated into the genus Ardenna.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Flesh-footed Shearwater?

The Flesh-footed Shearwater is about ≈48 cm long, with a wingspan of 108 cm and weighs around 609 g.

Where does the Flesh-footed Shearwater live?

Its breeding range: Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean: islets off St. Paul (central Indian Ocean), southwestern, southern Australia, Lord Howe Island (east of Australia), North Island and Cook Strait (New Zealand). It is most often recorded in New Zealand, United States and Australia.

When is the best time to see the Flesh-footed Shearwater?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the Flesh-footed Shearwater endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Flesh-footed Shearwater as Near Threatened.

What does the Flesh-footed Shearwater eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Flesh-footed Shearwater in?

It belongs to the family Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels (Procellariidae), order Procellariiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈48 cm
Wingspan: 108 cm
Weight: 609 g
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Feeds in the air
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Near Threatened

More measurements

Wing: 310 mm
Tail: 110 mm
Bill: 48 mm
Tarsus: 52 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean: islets off St. Paul (central Indian Ocean), southwestern, southern Australia, Lord Howe Island (east of Australia), North Island and Cook Strait (New Zealand)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2