Sargasso Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri Scientific name definitions

This seabird is characterized by its largely black upperparts and white underparts, and is not unlike the generally more familiar Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). Until recently, some ten subspecies of the Sargasso Shearwater were generally recognized, distributed throughout much of the world’s tropical oceans. However, their taxonomy has been heavily debated over the course of the last couple of decades, and considerable systematic rearrangement is now generally accepted, especially as a result of vocal and molecular research. As currently constituted, Sargasso Shearwater is now considered to comprise just two subspecies, both of which are largely or wholly confined as breeding birds to the Caribbean region, with the exception of populations, provisionally assigned to this species, nesting on islands off eastern Brazil. A third Neotropical taxon, long united with the present species, is now also recognized at species level, namely Galapagos Shearwater (Puffinus subalaris). The latter population is distinctly unusual in that the birds are strictly diurnal, never flying around their colonies by night.