Sooty Shearwater

How to find it

A pelagic boat trip is the usual way to meet this bird. You can also scan the sea from a headland where deep water comes near the coast. The Puntarenas to Paquera ferry route is a gentler choice: a writer has seen storm-petrels and Sooty Shearwater in the deepest water, about half an hour out of Puntarenas. Check flocks carefully, because one Costa Rican bird was found among Black Terns. Be ready for a quick look, since a storm-driven bird can drift out of easy view fast.

How to recognise it

The Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large seabird, 40 to 51 cm long, with a wingspan of 94 to 110 cm. Its plain dark plumage gives it its name.

Look for these marks:

- dark brown-grey plumage all over

- a broad pale stripe down the middle of each underwing

- a short, rounded tail

- dark underwing linings

That last mark helps in Costa Rican waters, where a seabird account separates it from Parkinson's Petrel. The petrel has a heavy, horn-colored bill with a dark tip, and the two fly differently.

What it sounds like

Recording: benjamin51552, CC0 1.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It flies low over the water on stiff wings with few flaps, and one writer compared its flight to a small albatross. In calm air it skims low. At sea birds gather in groups of hundreds or even thousands, flying in long straight lines or resting together on the water.

It eats fish, squid and krill-like shrimp, taken from the surface or by pursuit underwater. It sometimes swims underwater using its wings. It dives as deep as 68 m, though the average dive of tagged birds is about 14 m, and it mostly fishes near the surface. It often follows whales and fishing boats, and sometimes feeds alongside dolphins and other seabirds.

Where it lives

Worldwide it is a true open-ocean bird. It feeds far offshore and comes to land only to breed on southern islands.

In Costa Rica, most records of ocean birds come from the Pacific. That coast gets visits from seabirds on their migration routes or pushed in by tropical storms. Our records come from the Gulf of Nicoya, waters off Playas del Coco and the southern Nicoya Peninsula. Across its range it favours deep water that comes near the coast.

When to see it

Costa Rican reports are single sightings, not a seasonal pattern: 21 April in 1975, 13 August in 2017 and July in 2023.

Similar birds

The Short-tailed Shearwater is almost impossible to tell apart at a distance, so expect to need an expert guide or good views. In the Pacific, the Flesh-footed Shearwater has pale yellowish feet and bill, and the dark morph of the Wedge-tailed Shearwater has a longer tail. The Galapagos Shearwater is smaller and flutters then glides. The Sooty Tern has a similar name but is a tern.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Pardela Sombría is the name on the Costa Rican list. Other Spanish names for the species include pardela oscura, pardela gris and fardela negra, which are regional names, not recorded Costa Rican nicknames. In New Zealand it is called tītī, its Māori name, and muttonbird.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list classes the Sooty Shearwater as a migrant (M), while it is Near Threatened worldwide.

Photography tips

Scan the sea from a headland or join a pelagic boat trip. Range-wide it is seen from shore more often than other shearwaters, and deep water near the coast makes headland scans worthwhile. In Costa Rica one was found by checking a flock of Black Terns. Galapagos Shearwaters floated and fluttered along with the terns, and the Sooty Shearwater was among them.