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
Diego Garcia Other nesting native birds include red-tailed tropicbirds ("Phaethon rubricauda"), wedge-tailed shearwaters ("Puffinus pacificus"), Audubon's shearwater ("Puffinus iherminierii"), black-naped terns ("Sterna sumatrana"), white (or fairy) terns ("Gygis alba"), striated herons ("Butorides striatus"), and white-breasted waterhens ("Amaurornis phoenicurus"). The 680-hectare Barton Point Nature Reserve was identified as an Important Bird Area for its large breeding colony of red-footed boobies. The island hosts introduced bird species from many regions, including cattle egrets ("Bubulcus ibis"), Indian barred ground dove, also called the zebra dove ("Geopelia striata"), turtle dove ("Nesoenas picturata"), Indian mynah ("Acridotheres tristis"), Madagascar fody ("Foudia madagascariensis"), and chickens ("Gallus gallus"). Currently, three