Streaked Shearwater

About the Streaked Shearwater

The streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) is a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It is native to the Western Pacific and ranges from Japan to Australia. This shearwater has broad wings with a brown upperside and white underwings. The head and neck are flecked white to almost complete white. The face and underparts are all white. The bill is grey to pink with a dark tip while the feet are pinkish-grey.

Streaked shearwaters have a body length (from tip of bill to end of tail feathers) of 45 to 52 centimetres (18 to 20 in) and a wingspan between 103 and 113 centimetres (41 and 44 in). This species is pelagic, but is also found in inshore waters. It occurs in the Pacific Ocean, nesting in Japan and the Korean Peninsula, predominantly on their offshore islands. After breeding, the streaked shearwater migrate south, feeding in the seas off northern New Guinea, the Arafura Sea, and the South China Sea. Calonectris leucomelas have also been reported well off the west coast of the United States, from the southern coast of India, and from New Zealand. There is also a record of a specimen collected in Wyoming. Wikipedia →