Puffinus assimilis
The Little Shearwater, *Puffinus assimilis*, is the smallest and most agile of the shearwaters, a true pelagic marvel navigating vast ocean expanses. Measuring just 25-30 cm (10-12 in) in length with a wingspan of 58-67 cm (23-26 in) and weighing around 170-280 g (6-10 oz), it exhibits classic shearwater plumage: sooty-black to dark brown upperparts contrasting sharply with pure white underparts. A key identification feature is its small size combined with rapid, whirring wingbeats and often ...
Primarily pelagic, inhabiting offshore oceanic waters; breeds exclusively on remote islands and islets, typically nesting in burrows or rock crevices on vegetated slopes.
Primarily small fish, squid, and crustaceans, obtained by surface-seizing or shallow pursuit-diving.
Little Shearwaters are master aviators, exhibiting a characteristic rapid, low-level flight pattern over the ocean, often banking and shearing close to wave crests. At sea, they are largely diurnal, foraging actively, but become strictly nocturnal when returning to their breeding colonies to avoi...
The Little Shearwater boasts a wide but disjunct distribution across the temperate and tropical zones of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. In the Atlantic, breeding colonies are found on archipelagos such as the Azores, Madeira, Canaries, and Cape Verde, extending south to Tristan da Cunh...
Least Concern
- The Little Shearwater is the smallest member of the shearwater family, earning its common name. - They are true masters of nocturnal navigation, finding their specific burrows on remote islands in complete darkness. - Chicks are left unattended in burrows for days at a time while both parents f...