Christmas shearwater

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Christmas shearwater
Adult taking off, French Frigate Shoals

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Puffinus
Species:
P. nativitatis
Binomial name
Puffinus nativitatis
Streets, 1877

The Christmas shearwater or ʻaoʻū

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.[3]

It is one member of a very ancient lineage of the small Puffinus species. Its only close living relative is the Galápagos shearwater (P. subalaris).

Taxonomy

The species was described and given its current

mitochondrial DNA has shown that the closest living relative is the Galápagos shearwater (Puffinus subalaris).[6]

Description

The Christmas shearwater is a slender-bodied

Nestlings are covered in dark grey down feathers.[7]

The species closely resembles the sooty (Puffinus griseus) and short-tailed shearwaters (P. tenuirostris), but has dark brown underwings and is smaller. The short tail of the Christmas shearwater does not appear blunt except when spread, but in flight usually tapers to a point, enhanced by the feet which protrude beyond the tail-tip. It often flies in a leisurely way like the related Procellariidae, and thus can be mistaken for a petrel. In particular, it can appear similar to the extremely rare Fiji petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi), a gadfly petrel-like relative of the shearwaters. The two species share a similar morphology and colouration, but the bulbous head and rather thin long bill – typical for shearwaters – distinguish P. nativitatis from the slim-headed thick-billed Fiji petrel.[7]

Distribution and habitat

Breeding adult with its single egg, Eastern Island of Midway Atoll

The Christmas shearwater nests on remote islands of the Central Pacific: the

Sala-y-Gómez. It has become locally extinct on a number of islands, including Wake Island. Outside of the breeding season it ranges across the Pacific, having been recorded off the coast of Mexico and Guatemala in the east, and Bonin Islands in the west. Further south it is rare, having been recorded off Fiji only twice (one time in early to mid-May).[7]

Behaviour

Diet and feeding

Nestling in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Like its relatives it feeds at sea, predominantly on

plesiomorphic flight technique of petrels and similar Procellariidae, moving about with slow, leisurely wingbeats.[7]

Breeding

The Christmas shearwater nests on sandy islands with good cover. It nests on the surface, underneath dense cover (such as

egg, the timing of laying varying from island to island, on some islands breeding throughout the year. The egg is incubated for around 50 days. The time taken to fledge varies depending on the season, ranging from 60 to 100 days.[3]

Status and conservation

Although few specific studies have been conducted on the Christmas shearwaters, petrels and shearwaters are threatened worldwide by

Footnotes

  1. . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Gregg, Jason (12 May 2021). "Decolonizing Seabirds". Hakai Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  3. ^ (requires subscription)
  4. ^ Streets, Thomas Hale (1877). "Contributions to the natural history of the Hawaiian and Fanning Islands and Lower California made in connexion with the United States North Pacific Surveying Expedition, 1873-1875". Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 1 (7): 29.
  5. ^ Meyer, Ernst; Cottrell, G William, eds. (1979). "Puffinus nativitatis". Checklist of birds of the world. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 94–95.
  6. S2CID 86177092
    .
  7. ^ a b c d Seto (2001), Shirihai et al. (2009)
  8. ^ Seto (2001), BLI (2009)

References