Puffinus sp. (Portugal) - shearwater quiz (1 Viewer)

[Luís Vieira]

Dear all,

On August 14 2022 I photographed this shearwater from a beach (Praia Azul), located a few kilometres South of the Berlengas Islands on the West coast of Portugal. I am assuming it is a Puffinus species due to the flight behaviour and size observed in the field. The most obvious features of this bird are the following:
1. Dark undertails and diagonal black bar on the underside of the wing: P. yelkouan?
2. White indentation on the side of the body, immediately after the posterior edge of the wing: P. puffinus?
3. Grayish-brown (not black) upperparts and brownish head: P. mauretanicus?

What is your guess?

Thanks a lot. Best regards,

Luís

 

[Butty]

Bearing in mind that judging the size of a lone bird is notoriously unreliable, and hoping that its flight style excluded larger species... I doubt that, with photos of this very low quality (no offence), you will get further than it being either Balearic shearwater or Yelkouan shearwater. Can Balearic look as white as this on the underbody? - pass.

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

Luis, despite the low quality images, I would have absolutely no qualms calling the OP a Balearic Your bird appears to show a consistently dark rear end; a completely dark ventral region, the duskiness extending to the rear flanks which, is at odds with Yelkouan. Balearic's are highly variable, this individual is at the paler end of variation.

Grahame