Christmas shearwater
Christmas shearwater | ||||||||||
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Christmas shearwater ( Puffinus nativitatis ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||
Puffinus nativitatis | ||||||||||
Streets , 1877 |
The Christmas Shearwater ( Puffinus nativitatis ) is a species of shearwaters ( Puffinus ) from the family of the Petrels (Procellariidae).
description
The Christmas shearwater is between 35 and 38 centimeters tall and has a wingspan of 71 to 81 centimeters. The tail becomes up to 9 centimeters long. It weighs between 280 and 415 grams. The plumage is dark brown to black brown in color. The lower wings are a little lighter and have a slightly silvery sheen. Some whitish feathers can be seen in the chin area. The strong beak is colored black. The iris is brownish in color. The legs are dark gray to slightly lilac-gray in color. The toes end in black claws.
Distribution and reproduction
The Christmas shearwater can be found in large parts of the tropical and subtropical Pacific , in addition to the islands of Polynesia and Micronesia also on the coasts of the mainland, e.g. B. the southwest USA , Mexico and Chile . Occasionally they find themselves in Japan and New Zealand.
Its breeding area extends over 50,000–100,000 km², the entire population includes around 150,000 animals. The preferred breeding areas are subtropical to tropical islands in the eastern Pacific region, the largest colony on the Phoenix Islands consists of over 10,000 breeding pairs. For protection, the nesting sites are usually under dense ground vegetation or rocky outcrops. The nesting place is a flat hollow in the ground.
Danger
Due to its large distribution area, the Christmas shearwater is listed in the IUCN Red List as "not endangered".
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Graeme A. Taylor, Alan JD Tennyson: Christmas Island Shearwater Puffinus nativitatis on Curtis Island , in: Notornis, 41 (4), 1994, pp. 287–291, (online: PDF )
- ↑ a b c Puffinus nativitatis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed April 6 in 2009.