Wedge-tailed Shearwater [Ardenna pacifica]
Description
The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is a species of seabird that belongs to the shearwater family. It is medium-sized, with a length of 40-46 cm and a wingspan of 94-105 cm. It has long, narrow wings and a wedge-shaped tail, which gives the species its name. The bird has two colour morphs: a dark form, which is sooty-brown all over, and a pale form, which has a white underside and face. The species is pelagic, spending most of its life at sea away from land, and feeds on fish and squid. It nests in burrows on sandy islands in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Taxonomy
| Phylum |
Chordates
Chordata
|
|---|---|
| Class |
Birds
Aves
|
| Order |
Albatrosses, Petrels, and Shearwaters
Procellariiformes
|
| Family |
Shearwaters and Petrels
Procellariidae
|
| Genus |
Wedge-tailed Shearwaters
Ardenna
|