Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinus

Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
Protection in Spain: Vulnerable · Spanish Catalogue
In Spanish: Pardela pichoneta

Length: 30–38 cm
Wingspan: 76–89 cm
Weight: 350 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. Some may enter the Mediterranean.

Identification

The same colouring as a Little Shearwater and the size of a Mediterranean Shearwater. Breeds on North European coasts. Petrel de El Cabo Daption Capense / Cape Petrel L 38-40 / E 81-91 / P 340-480 Estatus: Accidental. Un ave en Gibraltar el 20.06.79. Identificación: Recuerda a una paloma moteada de blanco y negro. Procedente del Antártico y sur del Atlántico. Status: Accidental. One bird at Gibraltar on 20.06.79. Identification: It resembles a black and white mottled dove. Breeds at the Antarctic and South Atlantic.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Calendar in the Strait

23 %

Peak in May. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 24 October 2006
Latest record: 26 October 2025

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Vulnerable
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: CR · Critically endangered (Canary Islands) · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Same genus in the Strait

Yelkouan Shearwater32–38 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Balearic Shearwater34–38 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Sooty Shearwater40–51 cm · Migrant
Great Shearwater43–51 cm · Occasional

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
GBIF taxon key: 5229380

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026