Audubon's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier.

Certain populations are also known as Baillon's Shearwater or Tropical Shearwater, Bannerman's Shearwater, Mascarene Shearwater and Persian Shearwater; some of these are considered distinct species by various authors. If they are all placed in P. lherminieri, the North Atlantic Little Shearwater (otherwise often separated as P. baroli) is generally included here too. Thus, these small shearwaters form a cryptic species complex.