Galapagos Shearwater

How to find it

Plan for the water rather than the land, since this is a bird of open ocean. Because it is often recorded fairly close to shore, the Pacific coast is the sensible place to scan. The central Pacific near Quepos has produced a photographed record. Look for mixed flocks of shearwaters and boobies feeding together, since this bird joins them. Watch for the low flight of stiff wingbeats and short glides. Costa Rica's seabirds are poorly studied, so a boat day could also help gather data.

How to recognise it

This is a small, slender shearwater, about 29 to 31 cm long. Its marks are few and plain:

Dark brown upperparts.

White underparts.

A dark undertail.

Dark flight feathers on the underwing.

The contrast between brown back and white belly shows best as the bird tilts over the waves. There are no bright colours to help, so expect a quick view of a compact two-tone seabird rather than a long, close look. Tail length and how blackish the bird looks matter for telling it from a close relative, covered below.

Behaviour and diet

It is sociable and feeds at sea alongside other shearwaters and boobies, so a mixed feeding flock is a good place to scan. It flies low over the water and eats squid, fish and offal.

Its flight alternates 4 to 10 stiff wingbeats with short glides. That rhythm is described for the species in general, and it helps pick a shearwater out from other seabirds at a distance.

Where it lives

This is a pelagic bird of open tropical ocean, though it is often recorded fairly close to shore. In Costa Rica a photo was posted from Quepos, on the central Pacific coast.

The species breeds only in the Galápagos Islands and is mostly sedentary there, though some birds are regularly seen as far as the Oaxaca coast of Mexico. For a visitor, that means looking at sea off the Pacific side rather than in forest or farmland.

Similar birds

It looks very much like the tropical shearwater. That species is usually blacker and has a longer tail. The Galápagos bird is less blackish and shorter tailed, so judge tail length and how dark the bird looks.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican bird list (2025-2026 update) marks it M, and the IUCN rates the species Least Concern.