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Guide to North American Birds

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Adult (light morph). Photo: Forest and KimStarr/Flickr (CC-BY-2.0)

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna pacifica

Widespread in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, this seabird is a very rare visitor to our west coast. Underparts may be either light or dark; both color forms have reached California. The long, wedge-shaped tail makes this shearwater more graceful and maneuverable than many of its relatives.
Family Shearwaters and Petrels
Widespread in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, this seabird is a very rare visitor to our west coast. Underparts may be either light or dark; both color forms have reached California. The long, wedge-shaped tail makes this shearwater more graceful and maneuverable than many of its relatives.
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Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
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Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds

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