Petrels, Shearwaters, and Diving Petrels
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Ardenna pacifica
- Family
- Petrels, Shearwaters, and Diving Petrels (Procellariidae)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
Overview
The wedge-tailed shearwater (Ardenna pacifica) (Uau Kani or Koto in Hawaiian) is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It is found throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds on the islands off Japan, on the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles, the Northern Mariana Islands, and off Eastern and Western Australia.
Its Hawaiian name "Uau Kani" reflects the sound of their bird call.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Widespread in tropical and subtropical Pacific and Indian oceans, breeding on islets from Seychelles and Mascarenes eastward through Ogasawara and Iwo islands (southern Japan) and northern Australia, thence to Hawaii and Revillagigedo Islands (off central Mexico); ranges from northeastern Africa and Malagasy region eastward to southern Baja California and southward to Panama.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
- Australia
- China
- Christmas Island
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Guam
- Guatemala
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Mozambique
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Norfolk Island
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Oman
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Philippines
- Reunion
- Samoa
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- United States
- Vanuatu
- Yemen
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Wedge-tailed 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.