Some early sailors, visiting remote Pacific islands, surely feared that the ungodly wailing on shore meant they had been tricked to the gates of Hell itself. In truth, they stood among courting pairs of seabirds called Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. These birds nest on islands in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans. During courtship, pairs perform long duets of eerie wailing. Happy spooky Halloween! For more about the Wedge-tailed Shearwater, see Related Resources below.
Spooky Shearwaters
Duncan Wright
