Bird Album
Great Shearwater
Ardenna gravis (O'Reilly, 1818)
849 gWeight
The great shearwater (Ardenna gravis) is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.
Busiest months: August · Most records: United States, Spain, Canada
Where and when it's recorded
Great Shearwater has been recorded at 156 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 31 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Estaca de Bares – Observatorio de aves y entornoSpain761 records
- Cape PembrokeFalkland Islands406 records
- Robert Moses SPUnited States376 records
More places
- Bridges of RossIreland374 records
- Monhegan IslandUnited States261 records
- Seal IslandCanada219 records
- Cape Sable Island – Daniel's HeadCanada212 records
- PN Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – Cabo de São VicentePortugal188 records
- PN Sintra-Cascais – Cabo RasoPortugal181 records
- Bon Portage IslandCanada147 records
Countries and regions with the most records
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 great shearwater (Ardenna gravis) is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially on rocky islands in the South Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Great Shearwater?
The Great Shearwater weighs around 849 g.
Where does the Great Shearwater live?
Its breeding range: Atlantic Ocean: Kidney Island (Falkland Islands), Nightingale, Inaccessible and Gough (Tristan da Cunha group; south-central Atlantic Ocean). It is most often recorded in United States, Spain and Canada.
When is the best time to see the Great Shearwater?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in August (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Great Shearwater endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Great Shearwater as Least Concern.
What does the Great Shearwater eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Great Shearwater in?
It belongs to the family Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels (Procellariidae), order Procellariiformes.
At a glance
- Weight
- 849 g
- Habitat
- Ocean
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Feeds in the air
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 318 mm
- Tail
- 113 mm
- Bill
- 55 mm
- Tarsus
- 58 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Atlantic Ocean: Kidney Island (Falkland Islands), Nightingale, Inaccessible and Gough (Tristan da Cunha group; south-central Atlantic Ocean)
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels Procellariidae
- Genus
- Ardenna
Other birds in the genus Ardenna
Wedge-tailed ShearwaterArdenna pacifica
Buller's ShearwaterArdenna bulleri
Sooty ShearwaterArdenna grisea
Short-tailed ShearwaterArdenna tenuirostris
Pink-footed ShearwaterArdenna creatopus
Flesh-footed ShearwaterArdenna carneipes
Southern Giant PetrelMacronectes giganteus
Northern Giant PetrelMacronectes halli
Northern FulmarFulmarus glacialis
Southern FulmarFulmarus glacialoides
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Fyn Kynd. ↗
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