CoryÆs Shearwater

Calonectris diomedea

Pampero de Cory

 

 

Photo: G. Beaton

 

Dusky brown above and white below, with a yellow bill. Lacks the black cap of the Greater Shearwater, but some individuals have a white "U" on the rump, similar to the Black-capped Petrel. Length: 45-48 cm.; weight: 817-956 g. This seabird has long, pointed wings and a slow wingbeat as it soars over waves far out at sea. Feeds at night on fish and squid. Breeds on islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Azores, Cape Verde and Canary Islands, and ranges widely over the Atlantic Ocean when not breeding. Although not reported from Puerto Rican waters yet, it is to be expected since it has been reported well offshore of many West Indian islands.

TAXONOMY: PROCELLARIIFORMES; PROCELLARIIDAE

 
   
 
Photo: G. Beaton
 

References

Bent, A.C. 1922. Life histories of North American petrels and pelicans and their allies. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 121. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1964).

Harrison, P. 1983. Seabirds: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Harrison, P. 1987. A field guide to seabirds of the world. Stephen Greene Press, Lexington, MA.

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 1. Ostrich to ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Rabouam, C., J.-C. Thibault, and V. Bretagnolle. 1998. Natal philopatry and close inbreeding in CoryÆs Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea). Auk 115:483-486.

Cory's Shearwater, Spanish text

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