The Christmas Shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis) is a medium-sized shearwater of the tropical Central Pacific. It is a poorly known species due to its remote nesting habits, and it has not been extensively studied at sea either.
It is one member of a very ancient lineage of the small Puffinus species. Its only close living relative is the Galápagos Shearwater (P. subalaris), as indicated by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data and morphology. Until recently, that species was considered conspecific with Audubon's Shearwater.
Read more about Christmas Shearwater: Description, Range and Ecology
Famous quotes containing the word christmas:
“Mondays child is fair in face,
Tuesdays child is full of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Thursdays child has far to go,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
Saturdays child works hard for its living;
And a child that is born on a Christmas day,
Is fair and wise, good and gay.”
—Anonymous. Quoted in Traditions, Legends, Superstitions, and Sketches of Devonshire, vol. 2, ed. Anna E.K.S. Bray (1838)