Galápagos shearwater

Species of bird

Galápagos shearwater

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Aves
Order:  | Procellariiformes
Family:  | Procellariidae
Genus:  | Puffinus
Species:  |

P. subalaris

Binomial name
Puffinus subalaris

Ridgway, 1897

Synonyms[2]

Puffinus lherminieri subalaris

The Galápagos shearwater (Puffinus subalaris) is a small shearwater. Until recently it was considered to be a subspecies of Audubon's shearwater, but it is actually one of two members of a very ancient lineage of the small Puffinus species, the other being, as indicated by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data, the Christmas shearwater.[3]

It is an endemic breeder of the Galápagos Islands, and is largely sedentary, although individuals are commonly seen as far as the Oaxacan coast of Mexico.[4]

## Description

[edit]

The Galápagos shearwater has dark brown upperparts, undertail and underwing flight feathers, the rest of the underparts plumage being white. It sometimes has a dark collar. Both sexes are alike, as are the young after fledging.[4]

It is a slender-bodied shearwater, about 29–31 cm long, with a wingspan of around 63 cm and weighs 123-225 g. The species closely resembles the tropical shearwater, although the latter is typically blacker and has a longer tail.[4]

## Behaviour

[edit]

The Galápagos shearwater is a gregarious species and will feed at sea with other shearwaters and boobies. It flies low over the water and feeds on squid, fish and offal. It intersperses 4-10 stiff wing beats with shallow glides.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Puffinus subalaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22733979A132663046. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22733979A132663046.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. ^ "Puffinus subalaris". Avibase.
3. ^ Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Pasquet, Eric (2004). "A global molecular phylogeny of the small Puffinus shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater complex". Auk. 121 (3): 847–864\. doi:10.1093/auk/121.3.847.
4. ^ a b c d Onley, and Scofield, Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World (Helm 2007) ISBN 978-0-7136-4332-9

## External links

[edit]

* Galapagos shearwater photos

Taxon identifiers

Puffinus subalaris|

* Wikidata: Q1271926
* Wikispecies: Puffinus subalaris
* ADW: Puffinus_lherminieri_subalaris
* Avibase: 5FE42C6D7EAEBA84
* BirdLife: 22733979
* BOW: audshe3
* CoL: 4QFY5
* eBird: audshe3
* GBIF: 5843962
* iNaturalist: 144440
* ITIS: 824118
* IUCN: 22733979
* NCBI: 232373
* Neotropical: audshe3
* Observation.org: 156878
* Open Tree of Life: 501951
* Xeno-canto: Puffinus-subalaris