Townsend's shearwater Townsend's shearwater The Townsend's shearwater, "Puffinus auricularis", is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae. Its relationships are unresolved. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian shearwater ("Puffinus newelli") and possibly the Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus") (Austin, 1996; Austin "et al.", 2004). It formerly contained the former as a subspecies and was long considered a subspecies of the latter. The relationship of the Rapa shearwater, "P. myrtae" in regard to these species are also in need of research; this taxon was until recently placed in "P. assimilis" (Austin "et al.", 2004), but now raised
Heinroth's shearwater behaviour of close relatives). There is very little information about the species and it is uncertain if it is threatened or in decline. BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Puffinus heinrothi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/7/2006 Heinroth's shearwater Heinroth's shearwater ("Puffinus heinrothi") is a poorly known seabird in the family Procellariidae. Probably a close relative of the little shearwater or Audubon's shearwater (with which it is sometimes considered conspecific), it is distinguished by a long and slender bill and a brown-washed underside. This species is restricted to the seas around the Bismarck Archipelago and northern Solomon Islands. The breeding sites of