Procellariidae
Shearwaters: Puffinini

Genus Puffinus

Subgenera Thyellodroma and Neonectris

The three all dark and slender billed  birds of similar size of the 'southern' shearwaters, the black morph of P. pacificus, P. tenuirostris and P. griseus  can cause some confusion. P. griseus is clearly the largest, but there is some overlap in bill measurements with large P. pacificus. In P. pacificus  two subspecies are recognized  pacificus and chlrororhynchus. The latter is the smallest and overlaps with the short billed P. tenuirostris.
In general the bill color of griseus and tenuirostris is dark brown. The grey and white morph of P. pacificus and P. bulleri are to be distinguished by the more robust and different colored bill of the latter.Pacificus has a greyish bill with a dark tip, and in P. bulleri the latericorns and ramicorns have a bluish grey tinge with brownish streaks and dots and it has also a dark tip.  
Griseus and tenuirostris show considerable structural similarities and are grouped in the subgenus Neonectris. The similarities in chracteristics and habits of pacificus and bulleri is expressed by uniting them in the subgenus Thyellodroma

Subgenus Thyellodroma
Two species:
 

·         Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus, two subspecies in Indian and Pacific Ocean

·            P. p. pacificus from the Kermadec, Norfolk and Fiji Islands.

·            P. p. chlororhynchus from other island groups. Indian and Pacific Ocean.

·         Buller’s Shearwater Puffinus bulleri, New Zealand and Pacific Ocean.
 

	Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus chlororhynchus Brisbane, Australia Culmen: 35.2 mm; total: 82.7 mm, unsexed adult
	Buller’s Shearwater Puffinus bulleri Cape Farewell, South Island, New Zealand Culmen: 39.1 mm; total: 88.0 mm, unsexed adult

Subgenus Neonectris
Two species

• Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus, all three major oceans
• Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris, Pacific Ocean.

	Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus Carter's Beach, South Island, New Zealand Culmen: 41.6 mm; total: 99.9 mm, adult male
	Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris New South Wales, Australia Culmen: 30.8 mm; total: 82.8 mm, unsexed adult

Literature