Bryan’s Shearwater (Puffinus bryani) was described as new to science in 2011, based on a specimen collected on Midway Atoll in 1963 and misidentified as a Little Shearwater. In the early 1990s a second Bryan’s Shearwater was photographed, videotaped, and audiotaped calling from a rock crevice on Midway. These two records likely represented prospecting individuals from source colonies in the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands near Japan, which were discovered by Japanese ornithologists following publication of the type description in 2011. Peter Pyle, ornithologist, marine biologist, and research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and Honolulu’s Bishop Museum, will recount the discovery of the new species and its etymology as well as updated information on seasonality, breeding habitat requirements, and vocalizations. In addition, he will review conservation efforts in the Bonin Islands and elsewhere. Bryan’s Shearwater appears to be extremely rare and in need of targeted conservation actions to increase population size. Pyle is the author or co-author of nearly 200 papers in scholarly journals. He currently works for the Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes Station, California.
