Little Shearwaters

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Little Shearwaters
Little Shearwater (Puffinus assimilis), illustration

Little Shearwater ( Puffinus assimilis ), illustration

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Tubular noses (Procellariiformes)
Family : Petrels (Procellariidae)
Genre : Shearwater ( Puffinus )
Type : Little Shearwaters
Scientific name
Puffinus assimilis
Gould , 1838
Little Shearwaters off Madeira

The dwarf shearwaters and Little Shearwater ( Puffinus assimilis ) is a seabird from the order of the tube-nosed .

features

The little shearwater has a body length of 25 to 30 cm and a wingspan of 56 to 63 cm. The top is relatively monochrome soot black, while the underside is white. It is very similar to the Atlantic Shearwater . Compared to this, however, it has relatively blunt, short and wide wings, more white in the face so that the black eye is recognizable, a narrow beak, a more contrasting, narrower border of the lower wings, as well as diffusely lighter arm covers, whereby on the large arm covers a whitish band can also be discernible, white central under tail-coverts, and more curved than angled wings. It also has a round head that is raised or even erect in flight.

behavior

The flight, which is very flat over the water, does not seem straight and is characterized by fast wing beats, interrupted by only short gliding phases. Unlike many other related species, it does not follow boats.

The species breeds from February to June (but appears very rarely in summer and autumn and locally also further north) in small colonies in burrows that are difficult to access. These are only visited at night to avoid attacks by large seagulls. Only one egg is laid per pair. The little shearwaters feed on small fish, crustaceans and mollusks, which they ingest while standing over the water with their wings raised and feet hanging in the wind.

The little shearwater is mostly silent over the sea, but on moonless nights in the colonies, brightly voiced, laughing, rhythmic calls emphasized on the second syllable can be heard.

distribution

The subspecies P. a. tunneyi occurs on the islands in southwest Australia. P. a. elegans can be found on Tristan da Cunha , Gough Island , Chatham Islands and the Antipode Islands . The subspecies P. a. haurakiensis is present on the New Zealand islands of North East Island and the North Island . The subspecies P. a. kermadecensis occurs exclusively on the Kermadec Islands . The nominate form P. a. assimilis is native to Lord Howe Island and the Norfolk Island .

Species that have since been separated occur in the Canary Islands , the Azores and Madeira ( baroli ), the Cape Verde Islands ( boydi ) and other islands in Macaronesia .

Systematics

The species is divided into the following subspecies:

  • Puffinus assimilis assimilis Gould , 1838
  • Puffinus assimilis elegans Giglioli & Salvadori , 1869
  • Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis C.A. Fleming & Serventy , 1943
  • Puffinus assimilis kermadecensis Murphy , 1927
  • Puffinus assimilis tunneyi Mathews , 1912

Formerly included the Newellsturmtaucher ( Puffinus newelli myrtae ) Bourne , 1959 (then Puffinus assimilis myrtae ) Puffinus Baroli ( Bonaparte , 1857) (then Puffinus assimilis Baroli ) and Puffinus boydi Mathews , 1912 (then Puffinus assimilis boydi ) as additional subspecies. Mitochondrial DNA analyzes finally led to a split or to a different species.

Occasionally, Puffinus assimilis munda ( Salvin , 1876) is also found in the literature. However, this is a synonym for the subspecies P. a. elegans .

literature

  • Svenson, Grant, Mullarney, Zetterström: The new cosmos bird guide

Web links

Commons : Little Shearwater ( Puffinus assimilis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files