Short-tailed Shearwater
Ardenna tenuirostris
About the Short-tailed Shearwater
The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris; formerly Puffinus tenuirostris), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested. It is a migratory species that breeds mainly on small islands in Bass Strait and Tasmania and migrates to the Northern Hemisphere for the boreal summer.
Classification
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the scientific name of the Short-tailed Shearwater?
The scientific name of the Short-tailed Shearwater is Ardenna tenuirostris.
How many Short-tailed Shearwater sightings have been recorded?
2,799 observations of the Short-tailed Shearwater have been recorded on iNaturalist.
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Featured in Beat Darwin
The Short-tailed Shearwater was Beat Darwin's Animal of the Day on challenge #149 — August 7, 2026. Can you identify it in 3 attempts?
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