Species
Cory's shearwater
Calonectris borealis
A large, pale-billed shearwater that glides over the Gulf Stream in summer, occasionally storm-driven toward shore.
Photo Laura Gaudette (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 45 to 56 cm long; wingspan about 1.1 m
- Weight
- About 560 to 1,000 g
- Habitat
- Warm offshore waters
- Diet
- Fish and squid
- In Georgia
- A common summer visitor far offshore
- Voice
- Mostly silent at sea
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Large; brown-grey above, white below; pale yellow bill; slow, bowed-wing flight
- Told apart from
- Great shearwater, which has a dark cap, dark bill and white collar
- Where to look
- Far offshore in summer
Behaviour
Cory's shearwaters glide effortlessly over waves, rarely flapping. They breed on islands in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Why they matter
Shearwaters travel huge distances by using the wind over the waves, and their numbers reflect the health of the open ocean. Their summer visits off Georgia connect the state to breeding islands off Europe and Africa.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A burrow or crevice on islands
Eggs — One
Incubation — About 52 to 55 days
Chick — Fed by both parents for about three months
Lifespan — Wild birds over thirty years are recorded
Living around people
- A shearwater found on land cannot take off from flat ground; it needs a rehabilitator.
Misconceptions
- A seabird on land just needs to rest. Shearwaters' legs are set far back and they struggle on land.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Off South America and Africa | Offshore far south | Moving north | Breeding in the eastern Atlantic | Breeding | Offshore off the Southeast | Offshore | Offshore | Offshore | Leaving | Moving south | Far south |
Where it lives
Recorded in 17 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
- Delawarepassing through
- Floridapassing through
- Georgiapassing through
- Louisianapassing through
- Mainepassing through
- Marylandpassing through
- Massachusettspassing through
- New Hampshirepassing through
- New Jerseypassing through
- New Yorkpassing through
- North Carolinapassing through
- Rhode Islandpassing through
- Texaspassing through
- Virginiapassing through
If you found one
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