Ardenna pacifica
The Wedge-tailed Shearwater, *Ardenna pacifica*, is a quintessential pelagic seabird of tropical and subtropical oceans, easily recognized by its distinctive wedge-shaped tail, from which it derives its common name. Measuring 38-48 cm in length with a wingspan of 97-109 cm and weighing 300-500g, this slender shearwater typically exhibits a dark sooty-brown plumage dorsally, contrasting with a paler, often white, belly in the light morph (a dark morph is also common, entirely sooty). Its long,...
This is a truly pelagic species, spending most of its life at sea over tropical and subtropical oceans. It comes ashore only to breed on remote oceanic islands and atolls, typically nesting in burrows or under dense vegetation.
Their diet primarily consists of small fish, particularly flying fish and anchovies, along with squid and crustaceans. They employ surface-seizing and shallow pursuit-diving as their main foraging methods.
Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are primarily nocturnal at their breeding colonies, a strategy to minimize predation risks from gulls, frigatebirds, and terrestrial predators. During the day, they forage widely over the open ocean, often traveling hundreds of kilometers from their nesting sites. Their f...
The Wedge-tailed Shearwater boasts a vast pan-tropical distribution across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, making it one of the most widespread pelagic seabirds. Breeding colonies are found on remote oceanic islands and atolls, stretching from the western coast of Australia, across the Indian Ocea...
Least Concern
- The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is named for its distinctive, long, wedge-shaped tail, a key identification feature. - Despite spending months at sea, they possess an extraordinary sense of smell, aiding them in locating both dispersed prey and their specific burrows on distant islands. - They are ...