Townsend's Shearwater - BirdForum Opus

Puffinus auricularis

Identification

33 cm. Black above and white below, black half-collar, black undertail-coverts and thighs, white flank patch extending to side of rump. Underwing black around leading and trailing borders sharply demarcated from central white areas.

Distribution

Breeds on Revillagigedo Islands (off western Mexico), disperces to 8°N

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
Formerly considered conspecific with Newell's Shearwater and Rapa Shearwater.

Habitat

Rocky burrows, bushy areas at forest edge.

Behaviour

It nests in rocky burrows.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2015. IOC World Bird Names (version 5.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Townsend's Shearwater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Townsend%27s_Shearwater

External Links

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