Manx shearwater night-time clamour. Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus") is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: "Manx shearwaters" were called "Manks puffins" in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English "pophyn") for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits. The shearwaters form part of the family Procellariidae, a widespread group containing nearly 100 species of medium to large seabirds. They have long, narrow wings and the characteristic “tubenose”. The large genus
Tropical shearwater Tropical shearwater The tropical shearwater ("Puffinus bailloni") is a seabird in the family Procellariidae formerly considered conspecific with Audubon's shearwater ("Puffinus lherminieri"). There are five listed subspecies of the tropical shearwater: The tropical shearwater is found in the tropical parts of the western Indian Ocean from east Africa to southern India and in similar regions of the Pacific from just to the southeast of Japan to French Polynesia. The total population has not been definitively quantified. Subspecies "P. b. dichrous" is estimated to number 1,000–10,000 pairs on the Line Islands and 10,000–100,000 pairs on the Phoenix Islands, with the nominate