Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna pacifica (Gmelin, JF, 1789)

≈45 cmLength388 gWeight

A medium-large shearwater with a wedge-shaped tail, it occurs in dark and pale forms.

Most records: U.S. Outlying Islands, Australia, Norfolk Island

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Large wedge-shaped tail
Dark morph dark gray-brown overall
Pale morph with gray-brown back, head and wings, and whitish underparts
Bill dark, legs and feet salmon-pink

Male, female and young

Dark and pale forms are unrelated to sex or breeding status.

Voice

A long call, with an inhaled “OOO” and an exhaled “err”.

Where and when it's recorded

Wedge-tailed Shearwater has been recorded at 124 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 34 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Midway Atoll NWR – Eastern IslandU.S. Outlying Islands249 records
Long Reef Aquatic ReserveAustralia232 records
Midway Atoll NWR – Sand IslandU.S. Outlying Islands176 records

More places

ArideSeychelles171 records
Norfolk Island – Phillip IslandNorfolk Island160 records
Negombo - Morawala Beach - seawatchingSri Lanka100 records
Eaglehawk Neck Pelagic TripAustralia95 records
Cousin Island NRSeychelles86 records
Hundred Acres ReserveNorfolk Island60 records
Norfolk Island National Park – Captain Cook MemorialNorfolk Island59 records

Countries and regions with the most records

U.S. Outlying Islands Australia Norfolk Island Seychelles Sri Lanka British Indian Ocean Territory Cocos (Keeling) Islands China

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 wedge-tailed shearwater (Ardenna pacifica) (Uau Kani or Koto in Hawaiian) is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It is found throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S.

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

Questions

How big is the Wedge-tailed Shearwater?

The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is about ≈45 cm long and weighs around 388 g.

Where does the Wedge-tailed Shearwater live?

Its breeding range: Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean: islets of tropical South Indian Ocean: Amirantes and Inner Islands (central, northeastern Seychelles) and Mascarenes (Malagasy region), Chagos and Cocos (Keeling) (southeastern Indian Ocean), New Guinea region, and western Australia; islets of subtropical and tropical Pacific Ocean: eastern Australia including Torres Strait islands (northeastern Australia), Lord Howe and Norfolk islands (far east of Australia), Kermadec Islands (northeast of North Island, New Zealand); Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia; Senkaku (=Pescadores Islands), Ogasawara (=Bonin Islands) and Iwo (=Volcano Islands; south of Japan); throughout Micronesia and Polynesia (except Cook and Pitcairn groups); Northwestern and main Hawaiian Islands; and Revillagigedo Islands (far west of central Mexico). It is most often recorded in U.S. Outlying Islands, Australia and Norfolk Island.

Is the Wedge-tailed Shearwater endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Wedge-tailed Shearwater as Least Concern.

What does the Wedge-tailed Shearwater eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Wedge-tailed Shearwater in?

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

At a glance

Length: ≈45 cm
Weight: 388 g
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Varied
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 297 mm
Tail: 130 mm
Bill: 41 mm
Tarsus: 47 mm

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

Range

Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean: islets of tropical South Indian Ocean: Amirantes and Inner Islands (central, northeastern Seychelles) and Mascarenes (Malagasy region), Chagos and Cocos (Keeling) (southeastern Indian Ocean), New Guinea region, and western Australia; islets of subtropical and tropical Pacific Ocean: eastern Australia including Torres Strait islands (northeastern Australia), Lord Howe and Norfolk islands (far east of Australia), Kermadec Islands (northeast of North Island, New Zealand); Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia; Senkaku (=Pescadores Islands), Ogasawara (=Bonin Islands) and Iwo (=Volcano Islands; south of Japan); throughout Micronesia and Polynesia (except Cook and Pitcairn groups); Northwestern and main Hawaiian Islands; and Revillagigedo Islands (far west of central Mexico)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2