Conservation status: Amber
The sooty shearwater is a seabird, that is smaller than a herring gull. It is a large shearwater, with dark brown body and wings and long wings. Its bill is dark and when seen close up, there is a pale band along the underneath of the wings. It does not breed in the UK, but makes a huge clockwise migration up the western Atlantic in spring to spend the northern summer in the north Atlantic. Then in summer/autumn it moves down into UK waters on its return to the southern ocean to breed.
Latin name
Puffinus griseus
Family
Petrels and shearwaters (Procellariidae)
Where to see them
Best looked for from seawatching places in late summer and autumn.
When to see them
August-October.
What they eat
Fish, squid, crustaceans and offal from fishing boats.
Population
| Europe | UK breeding* | UK wintering* | UK passage* | | - | - | - | - |