2024 new name

Audubon's Shearwater is now Sargasso Shearwater

In 2024 Audubon's Shearwater was split, and the bird seen off the US East Coast got a new name: Sargasso Shearwater. The other new species live far from North America.

Updated

A shearwater, dark brown above and white below, resting on a gray-green sea
Audubon's own painting of the shearwater long named after him, now Sargasso Shearwater. John James Audubon, The Birds of America (1827–38)

What changed

WasAudubon's Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri
NowSargasso Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri

At sea in the warm western Atlantic, including the Gulf Stream off the southeastern US, and in the Caribbean. The new name comes from the Sargasso Sea.

Who decided, and when

  • American Ornithological Society (AOS): the 65th Supplement to its Check-list of North American birds
  • eBird and the Clements Checklist: its 2024 taxonomy update
  • AviList, the shared world checklist: agrees, with the same name

Which bird is it?

There is nothing new to tell apart in North American waters: the only one of these shearwaters off the US is Sargasso Shearwater.

What it does to your list

A new name only: your Audubon's Shearwater now counts as Sargasso Shearwater.

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