Petrels, Shearwaters, and Diving Petrels
Newell’s Shearwater
Puffinus newelli
- Family
- Petrels, Shearwaters, and Diving Petrels (Procellariidae)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
Overview
Newell's shearwater or Hawaiian shearwater (ʻaʻo), (Puffinus newelli) is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) and is now often placed in Townsend's shearwater (Puffinus auricularis).
This shearwater is the only seabird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds mountains of main Hawaiian Islands (primarily Kauai, also Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii); ranges to waters south of Japan and Mariana Islands and to southwestern Pacific near New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Continents
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Newell's shearwater
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
