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Scopoli's Shearwaters are large shearwaters. Their underparts are white, except for light-grey shoulder patches. The upperparts, including the crown and the sides of the head to below the eyes, are lightly vermiculated brownish-grey, with darker grey wings. The vermiculation comes from light-grey fringes on the individual feathers. The flight feathers are very dark grey, without light fringes. The underwings are mostly white, except for a black fringe all round. The leading black edge is narrow, while the trailing edge is wide. Also the primary flight feathers are dark-grey to black; on the underside they have white streaks going up their spines. The undertail, when fanned, also shows dark fringes. Seen up close, Scopoli's Shearwaters have light-grey eye-rings. The irises are dark, while the bill is yellow, with a grey hooked tip. In-flight the pink legs and feet are usually not visible.

As opposed to Cory's Shearwater, they have white streaks up the underside of their primaries, creating a "finger" or "hand" pattern.

Following other authorities, we treat Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) as a separate species here, rather than a race of Scopoli's Shearwater.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of Scopoli's Shearwater is available HERE .

Scopoli's Shearwater is a species of the Atlantic Ocean and of the Mediterranean Sea. Their overall range extends from the central Atlantic Ocean (roughly the latitude of Ireland) southwards to southern Brazil and Namibia. They visit the western coastline of Africa and the eastern coastline of Brazil, but they only rarely enter the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico or approach the North American coastline.

In Europe, Scopoli's Shearwaters are present all year round. With one exception in the Gulf of Biscaye, their breeding grounds are located around the Mediterranean Sea, mostly on islands, from the Balearic Islands to Crete and smaller Greek islands. Outside the breeding season they spend most of their time on the open Atlantic Ocean or in coastal waters. There may be an overwintering population around Sicily.

During the breeding season Scopoli's Shearwaters have a strong preference for rocky islands, cliffs and coastlines. During the rest of the year they are basically always on or above the open ocean.

J. Pires reports spotting Scopoli's Shearwaters during a pelagic trip off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, in October 2020. Another was found at the same location in October 2022. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.