
s. There are more than 30 species
of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris
and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus
. The Procellaria
petrel
s and Bulweria
were believed to belong to this group, but are only distantly related based on more recent studies, while the Pseudobulweria
and Lugensa "petrels" are more closely related (Bretagnolle et al., 1998; Nunn & Stanley, 1998).
Jonathan Meiburg
Kim Burke
Thor Harris
Howard Draper
Hurts so bad that you know it's not sinning.The funny thing is it's just beginning to feel good.
If you stay sober, I'll put the kettle on. And you can come over, drink tea, and watch the lawn.
It's like a dream I had: this girl I went to see (and I can't sing her name, she might be listening to me), in a room of missing tiles we felt ourselves entwine, and she bit my tongue and shouted as I crawled into her mind.
People got no respect for the dead; they roll new plans out neatly.
Everybody makes mistakes - some do most of all. "I just don’t have what it takes," they’re singing as they fall.
s. There are more than 30 species
of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris
and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus
. The Procellaria
petrel
s and Bulweria
were believed to belong to this group, but are only distantly related based on more recent studies, while the Pseudobulweria
and Lugensa "petrels" are more closely related (Bretagnolle et al., 1998; Nunn & Stanley, 1998). The genus Puffinus can be divided into a group of small species close to Calonectris and a few larger ones more distantly related to both (Austin, 1996). One thing that can be agreed upon about taxonomy of Procellariidae
is that it is in a state of flux.
These birds are most common in temperate and cold waters. They are pelagic outside the breeding season.
These tubenose
bird
s fly with stiff wings and use a “shearing” flight technique to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight. Some small species, like Manx Shearwater
are cruciform in flight, with their long wings held directly out from their bodies.
Many are long-distance migrants, perhaps most spectacularly Sooty Shearwater
s, which cover distances in excess of 14000 km (8,699.2 mi) from their breeding colony on the Falkland Islands
(52°S 60°W) north to 65°-70°N in the North Atlantic Ocean
off north Norway
. Short-tailed Shearwater
s perform an even longer "figure of 8" loop migration in the Pacific Ocean
from Tasmania
to as far north as the Arctic Ocean
off northwest Alaska
.
They are also extraordinarily long-lived. A Manx Shearwater
breeding on Copeland Island, Northern Ireland
, is currently (2003/2004) the oldest known wild bird in the world: ringed
as an adult (at least 5 years old) in July 1953, it was retrapped in July 2003, at least 55 years old. Manx Shearwaters migrate over 10000 km (6,213.7 mi) to South America
in winter, using waters off southern Brazil
and Argentina
, so this bird has covered a minimum of 1000000 km (621,372.7 mi) on migration alone.
Shearwaters come to islands and coastal cliffs only to breed. They are nocturnal at the colonial breeding sites, preferring moonless nights to minimize predation. They nest in burrows and often give eerie contact calls on their night-time visits. They lay a single white egg.
They feed on fish, squid, and similar oceanic food. Some will follow fishing boats to take scraps, notably Sooty Shearwater; these species also commonly follow whale
s to feed on fish disturbed by them. Their primary technique for feeding is diving and some species diving as much as 70 m (229.7 ft) under water.
Shearwaters are part of the family
Procellariidae
, which also includes fulmarine petrel
s, prion
s, and gadfly petrel
s.
List of species
- CalonectrisCalonectrisCalonectris is a genus of seabirds. It comprises three large shearwaters. There are two other shearwater genera. Puffinus, which comprises about twenty small to medium-sized shearwaters, and Procellaria with another four large species...
- Calonectris diomedea, Cory's ShearwaterCory's ShearwaterThe Cory's Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.This species breeds on islands and cliffs in the Mediterranean, with the odd outpost on the Atlantic coast of Iberia. The nest is on open ground or among rocks or less often in a burrow where one white egg is laid,...
- Calonectris edwardsii, Cape Verde ShearwaterCape Verde ShearwaterThe Cape Verde Shearwater , or Cagarra locally, is a medium-large shearwater, a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It is a breeding endemic of the Cape Verde archipelago of Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa.-Taxonomy:The Cape Verde Shearwater was originally...
- Calonectris leucomelas , Streaked ShearwaterStreaked ShearwaterThe Streaked Shearwater, Calonectris leucomelas is a species of seabird. The bird is 48 cm in size, with a 122 cm wingspan. This species is pelagic, but also occurs in inshore waters. It occurs in the Pacific Ocean, nesting in Japan and many of its offshore islands. After breeding, the Streaked...
- Calonectris diomedea, Cory's Shearwater
- PuffinusPuffinusPuffinus is a genus of seabirds in the order Procellariiformes. It comprises about 20 small to medium-sized shearwaters. There are two other shearwater genera: Calonectris, which comprises three large shearwaters, and Procellaria with another four large species...
- "Puffinus" group – smaller species, closely related to Calonectris
- Puffinus nativatis, Christmas ShearwaterChristmas ShearwaterThe 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....
- Puffinus subalaris, Galápagos ShearwaterGalápagos ShearwaterThe Galápagos Shearwater, Puffinus subalaris is a small shearwater. Until recently it was considered to be a subspecies of Audubon's Shearwater, but it is actually one of two members of a very ancient lineage of the small Puffinus species, the other being, as indicated by mtDNA cytochrome b...
- Puffinus bryani, Bryan's ShearwaterBryan's ShearwaterBryan's Shearwater is a species of shearwater that may occur around the Hawaiian Islands. It is the smallest species of shearwater and is black and white with a bluish gray beak and blue tarsi. First collected in 1963 and thought to be a Little Shearwater it was determined using DNA analysis to...
- Puffinus puffinus, Manx ShearwaterManx ShearwaterThe Manx Shearwater 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 for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...
- Puffinus yelkouan, Yelkouan ShearwaterYelkouan ShearwaterThe Yelkouan Shearwater, Levantine Shearwater or Mediterranean Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.-Description and identification:...
- Puffinus mauretanicus, Balearic ShearwaterBalearic ShearwaterThe Balearic Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was long regarded a subspecies of the Manx Shearwater; see there for more on the Puffinus puffinus superspecies; following an initial split it was held to be a subspecies of the "Mediterranean Shearwater"...
- Puffinus huttoni, Hutton's ShearwaterHutton's ShearwaterThe Hutton's Shearwater is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. Its common and specific name commemorates F. W. Hutton, a former curator of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch....
- Puffinus opisthomelas, Black-vented ShearwaterBlack-vented ShearwaterThe Black-vented Shearwater is a species of seabird. The bird is 30–38 cm in size, with a 76–89 cm wingspan. Formerly considered a subspecies of the Manx Shearwater, its actual relationships are unresolved....
- Puffinus auriculatus, Townsend's ShearwaterTownsend's ShearwaterTownsend's Shearwater, Puffinus auricularis, is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae.Its relationships are unresolved. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian Shearwater and possibly the Manx Shearwater...
- Puffinus newelli, Newell's ShearwaterNewell's ShearwaterNewell's Shearwater or Hawaiian Shearwater is a seabird belonging to the genus Puffinus in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial...
or Hawaiian Shearwater - Puffinus gavia, Fluttering ShearwaterFluttering ShearwaterThe Fluttering Shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.It is found in New Zealand and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitats are open seas and rocky shores.-References:...
- Puffinus assimilis, Little ShearwaterLittle ShearwaterThe Little Shearwater is a small shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data indicates that the former North Atlantic Little Shearwater group is closer to Audubon's Shearwater , and myrtae being closer to the Newell's and possibly Townsend's Shearwater...
- Puffinus lherminieri, Audubon's ShearwaterAudubon's ShearwaterAudubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....
- Puffinus (lherminieri) bailloni, Tropical Shearwater or Baillon's Shearwater, not agreed upon as to whether a ssp. or sp.
- Puffinus (lherminieri) baroli, Barolo Shearwater or Macronesian Shearwater, not agreed upon as to whether a ssp. or sp.
- Puffinus (lherminieri) boydi, Boyd's Shearwater, not agreed upon as to whether a ssp. or sp.
- Puffinus (lherminieri) bannermani, Bannerman's Shearwater, not agreed upon as to whether a ssp. or sp.
- Puffinus (lherminieri) persicus, Persian Shearwater, not agreed upon as to whether a ssp. or sp.
- Puffinus heinrothi, Heinroth's ShearwaterHeinroth's ShearwaterHeinroth's Shearwater is a poorly known seabird in the family Procellariidae. Probably a close relative of the Little Shearwater or Audubon's Shearwater , it is distinguished by a long and slender bill and a brown-washed underside.This species is restricted to the seas around the Bismarck...
- "Neonectris" group – larger species, a distinct lineage
- Puffinus creatopus, Pink-footed ShearwaterPink-footed ShearwaterThe Pink-footed Shearwater is a species of seabird. The bird is 48 cm in size, with a 109 cm wingspan. It is polymorphic, having both darker and lighter phase populations...
- Puffinus carneipes, Flesh-footed ShearwaterFlesh-footed ShearwaterThe Flesh-footed Shearwater, Puffinus carneipes, is a small shearwater. Its plumage is black. It has pale pinkish feet, and a pale bill with a black tip. Together with the equally light-billed Pink-footed Shearwater, it forms the Hemipuffinus group, a superspecies which may or may not have an...
- Puffinus gravis, Great ShearwaterGreat ShearwaterThe Great Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Its relationships are unclear. It belongs in the group of large species that could be separated as genus Ardenna ; within these, it might be allied with the other black-billed, blunt-tailed species Short-tailed...
- Puffinus pacificus, Wedge-tailed ShearwaterWedge-tailed ShearwaterThe Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia...
- Puffinus bulleri, Buller's ShearwaterBuller's ShearwaterBuller's Shearwater is a Pacific species of seabird in the family Procellariidae; it is also known as the Grey-backed Shearwater or New Zealand Shearwater...
- Puffinus griseus, Sooty ShearwaterSooty ShearwaterThe Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...
- Puffinus tenuirostris, Short-tailed ShearwaterShort-tailed ShearwaterThe Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...
or Mutton bird - †Puffinus olsoni, Lava ShearwaterLava ShearwaterThe Lava Shearwater, Puffinus olsoni, was a species of shearwater that formerly bred on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. The species is known only from fossil remains, and was only described by science in 1990. The species was intermediate in size between the Manx Shearwater and...
or Olson's Shearwater (extinct)
- PseudobulweriaPseudobulweriaPseudobulweria is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae. They have long been retained with the gadfly petrel genus Pterodroma despite morphological differences. mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis has confirmed the split out of Pterodroma and places the genus closer to shearwaters...
- Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi, Fiji PetrelFiji PetrelThe Fiji Petrel , also known as MacGillivray's Petrel, is a small, dark gadfly petrel.The Fiji Petrel was originally known from one immature specimen found in 1855 on Gau Island, Fiji by naturalist John MacGillivray on board 'HMS Herald' who took the carcass to the British Museum in London...
- Pseudobulweria rostrata, Tahiti PetrelTahiti PetrelThe Tahiti Petrel, Pétrel De Tahiti, or Petrel De Tahití is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family....
- Pseudobulweria becki, Beck's PetrelBeck's PetrelBeck’s Petrel, Pseudobulweria becki, is a small, recently rediscovered shearwater. It is dark brown above and on the head and throat. It is dark underneath the wings with a fairly distinct white wingbar. The belly and breast are white...
- Pseudobulweria aterrima, Mascarene Petrel
- Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi, Fiji Petrel
- Lugensa
- Lugensa brevirostris, Kerguelen PetrelKerguelen PetrelThe Kerguelen Petrel is a small slate-grey seabird in the family Procellariidae. The species has been described as a "taxonomic oddball", being placed for a long time in Pterodroma before being split out in 1942 into its own genus Lugensa...
- Lugensa brevirostris, Kerguelen Petrel
- Bulweria
- Bulweria bulwerii, Bulwer's PetrelBulwer's PetrelThe Bulwer's Petrel is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae, and is one of two species in the genus Bulweria . This bird is named after the Scottish naturalist James Bulwer.- Description :...
- Bulweria fallax, Jouanin's PetrelJouanin's PetrelJouanin's Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.It is found in Djibouti, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kenya, Maldives, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, and Yemen....
- Bulweria bifax, Small St. Helena Petrel
- Bulweria bulwerii, Bulwer's Petrel
- Procellaria
- Procellaria cinerea, Grey PetrelGrey PetrelThe Grey Petrel , also called the Brown Petrel, Pediunker or Grey Shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae, or petrel family...
- Procellaria aequinoctialis, White-chinned PetrelWhite-chinned PetrelThe White-chinned Petrel or Cape Hen, Procellaria aequinoctialis, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Oceans as far north as South Australia, Peru and Namibia, and breeds colonially on scattered islands....
- Procellaria conspicillata, Spectacled PetrelSpectacled PetrelThe Spectacled Petrel, Procellaria conspicillata, is a rare seabird that nests only on the high western plateau of Inaccessible Island in the Tristan da Cunha group. It is one of the largest petrels that nest in burrows.-Description:...
- Procellaria parkinsoni, Black Petrel
- Procellaria westlandica, Westland PetrelWestland PetrelThe Westland Petrel is a rare seabird that nests in New Zealand's forests. It is one of the largest petrels that nest in burrows, and is threatened by species introduced to New Zealand....
- Procellaria cinerea, Grey Petrel
External links
- Shearwater videos on the Internet Bird Collection