Newell's shearwater donkey-like braying call around the breeding areas. Townsend's shearwater ("P. auricularis") is very similar but has dark undertail-coverts, a shorter tail and a less sharp boundary between the black and white on the face. It was described as a new species "Puffinus newelli" in 1900 by the American ornithologist Henry Wetherbee Henshaw using specimens obtained by Brother Matthias Newell from residents of Maui. It was later included by some authors in the Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus") as was Townsend's shearwater ("Puffinus auricularis"). Later, Townsends's shearwater was raised back to species status with Newell's shearwater as a subspecies of it. This
Black-vented shearwater central and southern California during the country's colder months. The black-vented shearwater is thought to feed on mainly small fish. This bird nests in burrows and caves; it is a colonial nester. In the past, this bird had been threatened by feral cats and other predators on its breeding islands, but the problem seems to have been largely eliminated. There is some loss of birds from commercial gill netting, and the species is classified as near threatened by the IUCN mainly due to the uncertain impact on it by the expanding fishing industry. Black-vented shearwater The black-vented shearwater ("Puffinus opisthomelas")