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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Procellariidae
  4. ›
  5. Puffinus
  6. ›
  7. Newell's Shearwater
Newell's Shearwater
Photo · August von Pelzeln

BirdUp · Species

Newell's Shearwater

Puffinus newelliHenshaw, 1900

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
PROCELLARIIFORMES
Family
Procellariidae
Genus
Puffinus

At a glance

The Newell's Shearwater, native to Australia.

Origin
Native
  • Identification
  • Where
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

Newell's shearwater or Hawaiian shearwater (ʻaʻo), is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater and is now often placed in Townsend's shearwater. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

3 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Newell's Shearwater live in Australia?

The Newell's Shearwater is native to Australia.

Breeding range
Lehua (north of Nihau), montane Kauai, Molokai and Hawaii (main Hawaiian Is.)
Non-breeding range
To waters south of Japan and Mariana Is. (north-west Micronesia) and to south-west Pacific near New Caledonia, Solomon Is. and Vanuatu