Puffinus puffinus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English pophyn) for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits.
The shearwaters form part of the family Procellariidae, a widespread group containing nearly 100 species of medium to large seabirds. They have long, narrow wings and the characteristic "tube nose". Although it was considered a monotypic species, recently an endemic subspecies for the Canary Islands has been proposed P. puffinus canariensis. The large genus Puffinus includes several species formerly considered to be subspecies of the Manx shearwater, including the yelkouan shearwater, Balearic shearwater, Hutton's shearwater, black-vented shearwater, fluttering shearwater, Townsend's shearwater and the Hawaiian shearwater. Of these, the Hawaiian and possibly Townsend's shearwaters seem to be most closely related to the Manx shearwater.
Three extinct... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Manx Shearwater sighting in Dakar on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 68th most-seen of the 152 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Manx Shearwater in Dakar on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month. Those are among Dakar's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against almost none in May.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Manx Shearwater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Manx Shearwater sightings, Dakar has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Dublin (Ireland, under 5%) and Boston (United States, under 5%).
Same genus: Puffinus
The closest relatives of the Manx Shearwater that you can see in Dakar (genus Puffinus, Small Shearwaters) are Sooty Shearwater (about 30%) and Great Shearwater (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Manx Shearwater is recorded against all the birds logged in Dakar (38 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
