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
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