Newell's shearwater
| Newell's shearwater | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Puffinus |
| Species: | P. newelli |
| Binomial name | |
|
Puffinus newelli Henshaw, 1900 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Pufinus auricularis newelli |
|
Pufinus auricularis newelli
Puffinus puffinus newelli
The Newell's shearwater or Hawaiian shearwater (Puffinus newelli) is a seabird belonging to the genus Puffinus in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) and is now often placed in Townsend's shearwater (Puffinus auricularis). It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands
It is a fairly small shearwater, 33 centimetres (13 in) in length. The wing is 223–249 millimetres (8.8–9.8 in) long and the tail is 78.9–88.8 millimetres (3.11–3.50 in). The bird weighs 0.340–0.425 kilograms (0.75–0.94 lb). The upperparts are black with a brown tinge while the underparts are white. The dark colouration on the face extends below the eye and is sharply separated from the white throat. There is a white patch on the flanks, extending onto the sides of the rump. The underwings are mainly white with a dark border. The undertail-coverts have a black and white pattern and appear white in the field. The bill is dark grey or brown and the legs and feet are mainly pale pink. The bird flies low over the water on stiff wings with a mixture of short glides and periods of rapid flapping. It utters a donkey-like braying call around the breeding areas. Townsend's shearwater (P. auricularis) is very similar but has dark undertail-coverts, a shorter tail and a less sharp boundary between the black and white on the face.
It was described as a new species Puffinus newelli in 1900 by the American ornithologist Henry Wetherbee Henshaw using specimens obtained by Brother Matthias Newell from residents of Maui. It was later included by some authors in the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) as was Townsend's shearwater (Puffinus auricularis). Later, Townsends's shearwater was raised back to species status with Newell's shearwater as a subspecies of it. This taxonomy was followed by the American Ornithologists' Union from the sixth edition of its checklist onwards.
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