99. Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus)

The Sooty Shearwater is very widespread, breeding in the Southern Hemisphere on islands off New Zealand, Chile and Australia, and the Falkland Islands. It winters in the Northern Hemisphere during our summer and can be seen in late summer/early Autumn off UK coasts as it begins its migration back to its breeding grounds. It is very dark, with only its underwings being silvery white. It can be confused with the Balearic Shearwater but as well as its almost entirely dark colouration, it has a much more powerful flight, with longer, more pointed wings and a more athletic build compared to the Balearic Shearwater's pot-bellied appearance.

Sooty Shearwater, ©loarie, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Sooty Shearwater sketch.

Hmmm, not great and I ran out of time to finish. I feel like I'm struggling a bit with the shearwaters, getting everything in proportion in these long-winged birds is proving challenging.