Manx shearwater

The Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English pophyn) for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits.

Taxonomy

The shearwaters form part of the Procellariidae family, a widespread group containing nearly 100 species of medium to large seabirds. They have long, narrow wings and the characteristic “tubenose”. The large genus Puffinus includes several species formerly considered to be subspecies of the Manx shearwater, including the yelkouan shearwater, Balearic shearwater, Hutton's shearwater, black-vented shearwater, fluttering shearwater,Townsend's shearwater and the Hawaiian shearwater. Of these, the Hawaiian and possibly Townsend's shearwaters seem to be most closely related to the Manx shearwater.

Manx

Manx /ˈmæŋks/ is an adjective (and derived noun) describing things or people related to the Isle of Man:

It may also refer to:

Languages

Animals and plants

Other uses

Bardsey Island

Coordinates: 52°46′N 4°47′W / 52.76°N 4.79°W / 52.76; -4.79

Bardsey Island (Welsh: Ynys Enlli), the legendary "Island of 20,000 saints", lies 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", although its English name refers to the "Island of the Bards", or possibly the island of the Viking chieftain, "Barda".

Bardsey is 0.6 miles (1.0 km) wide, 1.0 mile (1.6 km) long and 179 hectares (440 acres; 0.69 sq mi) in area. The north east rises steeply from the sea to a height of 548 feet (167 m) at Mynydd Enlli, which is a Marilyn, while the western plain is low and relatively flat cultivated farmland. To the south the island narrows to an isthmus, connecting to a peninsula on which the lighthouse stands. Since 1974 it has been included in the community of Aberdaron.It is the fourth largest offshore island in Wales.

The island has been an important religious site since Saint Cadfan built a monastery in 516. In medieval times it was a major centre of pilgrimage and, by 1212, belonged to the Augustinian Canons Regular. The monastery was dissolved and its buildings demolished by Henry VIII in 1537, but the island remains an attraction for pilgrims to this day.