Flesh-footed shearwater

The flesh-footed shearwater (Ardenna carneipes), sometimes called the sable shearwater, is a medium-to-large seabird found mostly across the Indo-Pacific. It has black feathers, pale pinkish feet, and a light-colored bill tipped with black.

Along with the similar pink-footed shearwater, it belongs to the Hemipuffinus group—a superspecies that may or may not share an Atlantic relative in the great shearwater. These larger shearwaters are part of the genus Ardenna. Genetic research points to strong differences between Pacific colonies and those in South and Western Australia, likely due to philopatry and different feeding habits during breeding season.

A 2021 molecular study found very little genetic difference between the flesh-footed and pink-footed shearwaters, suggesting they might be considered the same species. The bird breeds in colonies, with two main regions: one in the southwest Pacific (Lord Howe Island with 22,654 pairs, South Australia with about 1,800 pairs on two islands, and northern New Zealand with 13,000 pairs), and another along Western Australia’s coast from Cape Leeuwin to the Recherche Archipelago, where up to 36,000 pairs nest on 42 islands.

An additional 500 pairs breed on St Paul Island in the Indian Ocean. A reported sighting on Astola Island, Pakistan, in the Arabian Sea remains unconfirmed. Populations appear to be declining across much of the range. The species is listed as near threatened in Australia and nationally vulnerable in New Zealand, and has been recommended for protection under the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. At the state level, it is vulnerable in Western Australia and New South Wales, and rare in South Australia.

The flesh-footed shearwater visits the North Pacific Ocean as a boreal summer visitor, where large numbers may be caught as fishery bycatch. It also faces climate-related impacts and significant heavy metal contamination, likely from ingesting plastic debris mistaken for floating food. In 2024, the alternative name sable shearwater was proposed.