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Species › Birds

Cory’s Shearwater

Calonectris diomedea

Order
Procellariiformes
Family
Procellariidae
Presence in the Strait
Seasonal
Abundance
abundant
Protection in Spain
Vulnerable · Andalusian Catalogue
In Spanish
Pardela cenicienta

Marine taxonomy: validated in WoRMS, AphiaID 137194

Photograph: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length
45–56 cm
Wingspan
100–125 cm
Weight
645 g
050100150LENGTH45–56 cmWINGSPAN100–125 cmcentimetres

Presence in the Strait

Abundant pelagic winter visitor, some birds occuring in summer. It bred on Gibraltar during the 19th Century.

Identification

The largest of the shearwaters that can be regularly seen in the Strait. Large, rounded head and long wings held bowed in flight. Long, strong bill, pale yellow with dark tip. Clean white underparts.

Movements

Spectacular passage (>150,000). Their arrival on Mediterranean breeding sites (prenuptial migration) peaks in February-March; and departure (postnuptial migration) to their main wintering location (South Africa) peaks in October-November. Significant movement of birds in July-August corresponds to wandering non-breeders. Procellariidae Pardela Capirotada Pardela Sombría Pardela Cenicienta Pardela Balear (Puffinus mauretanicus) y Pardela Mediterránea (Puffinus yelkouan). Consideradas antes como subespecies de la Pardela Pichoneta (Puffinus puffinus), ambas han obtenido recientemente la categoría de especie. Las dos anidan en el Mediterráneo, siendo endemismos de éste. La distribución de la Pardela Balear se centra en las Islas Baleares y su entorno, mientras que la Pardela Mediterránea tiene una amplia distribución por el mar Mediterráneo. Su reciente separación en especies distintas dificulta el análisis de su fenología por separado, ya que las observaciones se anotaban como especie única. Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) & Mediterranean Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) Previously considered subspecies of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), both have recently been split. Both nest in the Mediterranean and are endemic to this area. The distribution of the Balearic Shearwater is centred on the Balearic Islands and surrounding region, while the Mediterranean Shearwater is more widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean area. Their recent separation makes the separate analysis of their phenology difficult, as previous sightings being counted as a single species.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Gallery

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.