Shearwater
Shearwaters | |
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Great shearwater | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Procellariiformes |
Family: | Procellariidae |
Diversity | |
3 genera and c. 30 species
| |
Genera | |
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged
Description
These tubenose birds fly with stiff wings and use a "shearing" flight technique (flying very close to the water and seemingly cutting or "shearing" the tips of waves) to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight. This technique gives the group its English name.[1] Some small species, like the Manx shearwater are cruciform in flight, with their long wings held directly out from their bodies.
Behaviour
Movements
Many shearwaters are long-distance migrants, perhaps most spectacularly
Following the tracks of the migratory Yelkouan shearwater has revealed that this species never flies overland, even if it means flying an extra 1'000 km. For instance, during their seasonal migration towards the Black Sea they would circumvent the entire Peloponnese instead of crossing over the 6 km isthmus of Corinth.[3]
Breeding
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
Feeding
They feed on fish, squid, and similar oceanic food. Some will follow fishing boats to take scraps, commonly the sooty shearwater; these species also commonly follow whales to feed on fish disturbed by them. Their primary feeding technique is diving, with some species diving to depths of 70 m (230 ft).
Taxonomy
There are about 30 species: a few larger ones in the genera Calonectris and Ardenna and many smaller ones in Puffinus. Recent genomic studies show that Shearwaters form a clade with Procellaria, Bulweria and Pseudobulweria.[4] This arrangement contrasts with earlier conceptions based on mitochondrial DNA sequencing. [5][6][7]
List of species
The group contains 3 genera with 32 species.[8]
- Puffinus
- Christmas shearwater, Puffinus nativitatis
- Manx shearwater, Puffinus puffinus
- Yelkouan shearwater, Puffinus yelkouan
- Balearic shearwater, Puffinus mauretanicus
- Bryan's shearwater, Puffinus bryani – first described in 2011
- Black-vented shearwater, Puffinus opisthomelas
- Townsend's shearwater, Puffinus auricularis
- Newell's shearwater, Puffinus newelli (split from Townsend's shearwater)
- Rapa shearwater, Puffinus myrtae (split from Newell's shearwater)
- Fluttering shearwater, Puffinus gavia
- Hutton's shearwater, Puffinus huttoni
- Audubon's shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri
- Persian shearwater, Puffinus persicus (split from Audubon's shearwater)
- Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni (split from Audubon's shearwater)
- Galápagos shearwater, Puffinus subalaris (split from Audubon's shearwater)
- Bannerman's shearwater, Puffinus bannermani
- Heinroth's shearwater, Puffinus heinrothi
- Little shearwater, Puffinus assimilis
- Subantarctic shearwater, Puffinus elegans (split from little shearwater)
- Barolo shearwater or Macronesian shearwater, Puffinus baroli
- Boyd's shearwater, Puffinus boydi (split from Barolo shearwater)
- Calonectris
- Streaked shearwater, Calonectris leucomelas
- Scopoli's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea (split from Cory's shearwater)
- Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea
- Cape Verde shearwater, Calonectris edwardsii
- Ardenna
- Wedge-tailed shearwater, Ardenna pacifica
- Buller's shearwater, Ardenna bulleri
- Sooty shearwater, Ardenna grisea
- Short-tailed shearwater or mutton bird, Ardenna tenuirostris
- Pink-footed shearwater, Ardenna creatopus
- Flesh-footed shearwater, Ardenna carneipes
- Great shearwater, Ardenna gravis
There are two extinct species that have been described from fossils.
- † Lava shearwater or Olson's shearwater, Puffinus olsoni
- † Dune shearwater or Hole's shearwater, Puffinus holeae
Phylogeny
Phylogeny of the shearwaters based on a study by Joan Ferrer Obiol and collaborators published in 2022. Only 14 of the 21 recognised species in the genus Puffinus were included.[9]
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References
- ^ "Shearwaters". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ "Longest Animal Migration Measured, Bird Flies 40,000 Miles a Year". Archived from the original on August 11, 2006.
- ^ CIESM Seabird Project. 2021. https://ciesm.org/marine/programs/seabirds/track-seabirds-migrating-live/
- S2CID 236502443.
- JSTOR 4089123.
- PMID 9787440. Corrigendum
- PMID 8812308.
- Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Petrels, albatrosses". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- hdl:2445/193747.
External links
- Shearwater videos on the Internet Bird Collection