Birdsong field guide
Flesh-footed Shearwater
Ardenna carneipes
A large, soot-colored pelagic seabird distinguished by its robust, pale bill and characteristic pinkish-flesh feet. It is a trans-equatorial migrant known for its deep-diving capabilities and social breeding colonies.
What it sounds like
A series of harsh, rhythmic nasal cackles and braying notes, described as 'ku-koo-aah', primarily heard at night within breeding colonies.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
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Field notes
- It is a proficient diver compared to other procellariids, capable of reaching depths of over 60 meters to pursue prey.
- The species is notably susceptible to plastic ingestion, with some of the highest recorded levels of microplastic loads in seabirds.
- Unlike the similar Sooty Shearwater, it lacks silvery underwing coverts, appearing uniformly dark on the ventral wing surface.
- They are colonial nesters that excavate long burrows in the soil of offshore islands, often beneath dense forest canopies.
- Populations exhibit distinct migratory routes: Western Australian birds winter in the Indian Ocean, while New Zealand birds move to the North Pacific.
Habitat
Pelagic and offshore marine waters; nests on offshore islands with friable soil and forest or scrub cover.
Range
Breeds in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, St. Paul Island) and migrates to the North Pacific and North Indian Oceans.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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