Puffinus boydi
Boyd's Shearwater (Puffinus boydi) is a compact, oceanic seabird endemic to the Macaronesian archipelago in the eastern North Atlantic, distinguished by its small size, dark upperparts, and pristine white underparts. Averaging 27-30 cm in length with a wingspan of 55-65 cm and weighing 120-200g, it presents a streamlined profile with a relatively short, dark bill. Key field marks include its rapid, stiff-winged flight, which often appears less erratic than its close relatives, and its clean, ...
This is a strictly pelagic seabird, spending its life at sea over the open ocean. It breeds exclusively on remote oceanic islands and islets, nesting in burrows or rock crevices.
Their diet primarily consists of small fish, squid, and crustaceans caught by surface-seizing or shallow pursuit-diving in the open ocean.
Boyd's Shearwaters are primarily nocturnal at their breeding colonies, emerging from and returning to burrows under the cover of darkness to avoid aerial predators like gulls. During the day, they forage extensively at sea, employing a combination of surface-seizing and shallow pursuit-diving to ...
Boyd's Shearwater is an endemic breeder to the Macaronesian biogeographical region in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. Its primary breeding strongholds are found across several island groups, including the Azores, Madeira (including the Desertas and Selvagens Islands), the Canary Islands, and th...
Least Concern
- Boyd's Shearwater is named after Lieutenant Arthur George Boyd, a British naval officer and naturalist who collected specimens in the Azores in the late 19th century. - Despite its small size, it can undertake impressive foraging flights, covering vast distances over the open ocean to find food...