Great shearwater

Puffinus gravis

The Great shearwater (Puffinus gravis) is a bird found in United States, Canada and Portugal. Open Atlantic Ocean, nesting on remote southern islands. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fish and dead animals (carrion). The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Puffinus gravis
Region	North America
Found in	United States, Canada and Portugal

🏡 Where the Great shearwater lives

Open Atlantic Ocean, nesting on remote southern islands.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs40%
🐟 Fish40%
🦴 Leftovers (carrion)20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It crosses the Atlantic every year, flying low over the waves.

Hear the Great shearwater

Recorded by Sven Normant (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1180185. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Great shearwater

Where does the Great shearwater live?

The Great shearwater lives in United States, Canada and Portugal. Open Atlantic Ocean, nesting on remote southern islands.

What does the Great shearwater eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 40%), fish (about 40%), dead animals (carrion) (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Great shearwater endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.