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Flesh-footed Shearwater
Puffinus carneipes
Conservation Status
Listed as Vulnerable under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act.
What does it look like?
It is a large, bulky, all-dark shearwater. The blackish-brown plumage is darkest on the head and primaries. The wing-coverts have brown margins that become paler with wear. The blackish tail may be either gently wedged or rounded. Individuals are readily distinguished from most other all-dark shearwaters by a large, dark-tipped, pale bill.
The Flesh-footed Shearwater calls on the ground in a short repeated gug-gug-gug followed by a hoarse, crooning ku-koo-ah repeated 3-6 times, becoming increasingly hysterical until koo becomes a scream.
Similar Species
The Flesh-footed Shearwater may be confused with the Black Petrel, especially where their ranges overlap in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. The Black Petrel is larger and bulkier with a larger head, thicker neck and longer, broader wings. Whilst in flight the black feet of the Black Petrel trail slightly beyond the top of their short wedge-shaped tail.
Updated: 22 Jun 2011
Related Links
- Flesh-footed Shearwater - DEC - NSW Threatened Species Profile