Birds and wildlife

Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinusGroup: Petrels and shearwatersUK Conservation status:Not assessed

How to identify

The Manx Shearwater is a small shearwater. Its straight slim wings are black above and white below. It flies with a series of rapid stiff-winged flaps followed by long glides over the surface of the sea, occasionally banking or 'shearing' (tilting in flight, with one wing held higher than the other). It breeds in groups in the UK, on offshore islands where it is safe from rats and other ground predators. Birds leave their nest sites in July to migrate to the coast of South America, where they spend the winter, returning in late February and March.

Call

Manx Shearwater

Grant Sherman / xeno-canto

Key

  1. Resident
  2. Passage
  3. Summer
  4. Winter
* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Where best to see them

Key facts