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
Coat of arms of Saba Coat of arms of Saba The coat of arms of Saba was established in 1985 by the island council of Saba, when it was still part of the Netherlands Antilles. It remained the coat of arms of Saba after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles and the subsequent change of Saba's constitutional status into a special municipality of the Netherlands in 2010. It consists of a shield with an Audubon's shearwater ("Puffinus lherminieri") (the national bird) on top, flanked by Saban cabbage (a historically important local foodcrop). In the middle is a representation of the island itself, with a fish,