The Christmas Shearwater is graceful in flight as it soars above the Pacific ocean in search of food.

  They are a sooty black color all over their bodies.  They can grow to have wingspans of up to nearly 80 cm (32 in).

  Adults return to colonies in the NWHI in March and leave in early fall.  

Christmas Shearwater Links
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• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service page
  
  
• Hawai'i Audubon Society page
  
  

Photo by Monte Costa