Flesh-footed Shearwater (Puffinus carneipes)

Identification: Length: 18 inches Wingspan: 43 inches. Sexes similar. Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed. Large shearwater. Pinkish bill with tube on top. Flesh-colored feet. All dark plumage.

Similar species: Similarly dark Sooty and Short-tailed Shearwaters have dark bills and feet and faster wing beats. Immature gulls are superficially similar but can be separated at great distances by their different flight styles. Shearwaters fly closer to the surface of the water, often disappearing behind swells, alternating flaps with long glides on downcurved wings.