Species
Sargasso shearwater
Puffinus lherminieri
A small, fast-flapping shearwater of warm offshore waters, feeding among the floating sargassum off Georgia.
Photo Dan Vickers (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 30 cm long; wingspan about 69 cm
- Weight
- About 150 to 230 g
- Habitat
- Warm offshore water, especially near floating sargassum weed
- Diet
- Small fish and squid
- In Georgia
- A regular summer visitor far offshore
- Voice
- Silent at sea
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Small; dark brown above, white below; dark under the tail; rapid wingbeats with short glides
- Told apart from
- Manx shearwater, which is larger, blacker, and white under the tail
- Where to look
- Gulf Stream waters in summer
Behaviour
Sargasso shearwaters feed around mats of floating sargassum, where small fish shelter. They nest in burrows and crevices on Caribbean and Bahamian islands.
Why they matter
Formerly called Audubon's shearwater, this bird relies on the sargassum mats of the Gulf Stream, a floating habitat that also shelters young sea turtles. Its presence off Georgia shows how rich that drifting world is.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A burrow or rock crevice on tropical islands
Eggs — One
Incubation — About 50 days
Chick — Fed by both parents
Lifespan — Several years
Living around people
- A shearwater ashore after a storm needs a rehabilitator.
Misconceptions
- All seabirds are gulls. Shearwaters are a separate group that lives on the open ocean.
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 | Near Caribbean colonies | Nesting | Nesting | Chicks | Chicks | Offshore off the Southeast | Offshore | Offshore | Offshore | Moving south | Near Caribbean colonies | Near colonies |
Where it lives
Recorded in 14 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
If you found one
Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.
I found an animal