Newell's Shearwater

Newell's Shearwater (Puffinus newelli) is a small sharply patterned shearwater with a dark cap and upperparts contrasting with clean white underparts. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It forages for fish and squid around the Hawaiian region and breeds in burrows on steep, vegetated mountain slopes, usually travelling to colonies after dark. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).