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Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes (or tubenoses), which also .... They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These Procellariiformes, 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. 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 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manx Shearwater
The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') 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 (Middle English ''pophyn'') for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits. Taxonomy The shearwaters form part of the family Procellariidae, a widespread group containing nearly 100 species of medium to large seabirds. They have long, narrow wings and the characteristic “tube nose”. Although it was considered a monotypic species, recently an endemic subspecies for the Canary Islands has been proposed ''P. puffinus canariensis''. The large genus ''Puffinus'' includes several species formerly considered to be subspecies of the Manx shearwater, including the yelkouan shearwater, Balearic shearwater, Hutton's shearwater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-tailed Shearwater
The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), 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. It is a migratory species that breeds mainly on small islands in Bass Strait and Tasmania and migrates to the Northern Hemisphere for the boreal summer. Taxonomy This shearwater appears to be related to the sooty and great shearwaters, which are also blunt-tailed, black-billed species, but its precise relationships are obscure (Austin, 1996; Austin ''et al.'', 2004). These are among the larger species of shearwater, which have been moved to a separate genus, ''Ardenna'' based on a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA (Penhallurick & Wink, 2004). Ecology Each parent feeds the single chick for 2–3 days and then leaves for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procellariidae
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes (or tubenoses), which also includes the albatrosses and the storm petrels. The procellariids are the most numerous family of tubenoses, and the most diverse. They range in size from the giant petrels with a wingspan of around , that are almost as large as the albatrosses, to the diving petrels with a wingspan of around that are similar in size to the little auks or dovekies in the family Alcidae. Male and female birds are identical in appearance. The plumage color is generally dull, with blacks, whites, browns and grays. The birds feed on fish, squid and crustacea, with many also taking fisheries discards and carrion. Whilst agile swimmers and excellent in water, petrels have weak legs and can only shuffle on land, with the giant petrels of the genus Macronectes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Shearwater
The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name , and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (''A. pacificus'') and the Australian short-tailed shearwater (''A. tenuirostris''). Taxonomy The sooty shearwater was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the binomial name ''Procellaria grisea''. The shearwater had been briefly described in 1777 by James Cook in the account of his second voyage to the Pacific, and in 1785 the English ornithologist John Latham had described a museum specimen. The sooty shearwater is now placed in the genus ''Ardenna'', that was introduced in 1853 by Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name ''Ardenna'' was used to refer to a seabird by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1603, and the specific epithet ''grisea'' is medieval Latin for "grey". The species is considered to be mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are often referred to collectively as the petrels, a term that has been applied to all members of the order,Warham, J. (1996). ''The Behaviour, Population, Biology and Physiology of the Petrels''. London: Academic Press, or more commonly all the families except the albatrosses.Brooke, 2004. They are almost exclusively pelagic (feeding in the open ocean), and have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world's oceans, with the highest diversity being around New Zealand. Procellariiforms are colonial, mostly nesting on remote, predator-free islands. The larger species nest on the surface, while most smaller species nest in natural cavities and burrows. They exhibit strong philopatry, returning to their natal colony to breed and returning to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puffinus
''Puffinus'' is a genus of seabirds in the order Procellariiformes that contains about 20 small to medium-sized shearwaters. Two other shearwater genera are named: ''Calonectris'', which comprises three or four large shearwaters, and ''Ardenna'' with another seven species (formerly often included within ''Puffinus''). The taxonomy of this group is the cause of much debate, and the number of recognised species varies with the source. The species in this group are long-winged birds, dark brown or black above, and white to dark brown below. They are pelagic outside the breeding season. They are most common in temperate and cold waters. These tubenose birds fly with stiff wings, and use a shearing flight technique to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight. Some small species, such as the Manx shearwater, are cruciform in flight, with their long wings held directly out from their bodies. Many are long-distance migrants, perhaps most spectacularly the sooty and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balearic Shearwater
The Balearic shearwater (''Puffinus mauretanicus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family ''Procellariidae''. ''Puffinus'' is a New Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the Manx shearwater, a former delicacy. The specific ''mauretanicus'' refers to Mauretania, an old name for an area of North Africa roughly corresponding to Morocco and Algeria. Taxonomy The Balearic shearwater was formerly described in 1921 by the English ornithologist Percy Lowe. He treated it as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater and coined the trinomial name ''Puffinus puffinus mauretanicus''. The Balearic shearwater was long regarded a subspecies of the Manx shearwater. Following an initial split, it was held to be a subspecies of the "Mediterranean shearwater" for nearly ten more years, until it was resolved to be a distinct species, separate from the yelkouan shearwater. It is the last taxon of the ''Puffinus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Shearwater
The Christmas shearwater or ''aoū'' (''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.Seto, N.W.H. (2001): Christmas Shearwater (''Puffinus nativitatis''). ''In:'' Poole, A. & Gill, F. (eds.): ''The Birds of North America'' 561. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA & American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. (requires subscription) 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 binomial name by the American naturalist Thomas Hale Streets in 1877. A genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA has shown that the closest living relative is the Galápagos shearwater (''Puffinus subalaris''). Description The Christmas shearwater is a slender-bodi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Shearwater
The great shearwater (''Ardenna gravis'') is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially on rocky islands in the south Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic. Taxonomy The great shearwater was formally described in 1818 by the Irish naturalist Bernard O'Reilly and given the binomial name ''Procellaria gravis''. The great shearwater is now placed in the genus ''Ardenna'' that was introduced in 1853 by Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name ''Ardenna'' was used to refer to a seabird by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1603. The specific epithet ''gravis'' is Latin meaning "heavy" or "weighty". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Description This shearwater is 43–51 cm (16.9–20.1 in) in length with a 105–122 cm (3.5–4.0 ft) wingspan. It is identifiable by its size, dark upper parts, and white under parts, with the exception of a brown belly patch and dark shoulder markings. It has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-vented Shearwater
The black-vented shearwater (''Puffinus opisthomelas'') is a species of seabird. The bird is 30–38 cm in length with a 76–89 cm wingspan. Formerly considered a subspecies of the Manx shearwater, its actual taxonomic relationships are unresolved. This species is pelagic, occurring in the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. It comes closer to land than most other shearwaters, so it can sometimes be seen from shore.E.g. "thousands upon thousands" of birds seen off San Quintín, Baja California at the end of June: Thayer & Bangs (1908) It nests predominantly on offshore islands off north and western Baja California, namely Isla Natividad (ca. 95% of the nesting population), Isla de Guadalupe, and Islas San Benito. It is fairly common off the United States coast of central and southern California during the country's colder months. The black-vented shearwater is thought to feed on mainly small fish. This bird nests in burrows and caves; it is a colonial nester. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calonectris
''Calonectris'' is a genus of seabirds. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek ''kalos'', "good" and ''nectris'', "swimmer". The genus comprises four 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. The latter are usually named as ''petrels'', although they are thought to be more closely related to the shearwaters than to the other petrels. The species in this group are long-winged birds, dark brown or grey-brown above, and mainly white below. They are pelagic outside the breeding season. They are most common in temperate and cold waters. These tubenose birds fly with stiff wings, and use a shearing flight technique to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight. Their flight appears more albatross-like than the ''Puffinus'' species. ''Calonectris'' shearwaters are long-distance migrants. The streaked shearwater dispers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yelkouan Shearwater
upright=0.8, Egg of the yelkouan shearwater The yelkouan shearwater, Levantine shearwater or Mediterranean shearwater (''Puffinus yelkouan'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus''). Taxonomy The yelkouan shearwater was formally described in 1827 by the Italian naturalist Giuseppe Acerbi from specimens collected in the Bosphorus, Turkey. He placed the shearwater in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria yelkouan''. The yelkouan shearwater is now placed in the genus ''Puffinus'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name ''Puffinus'' is New Latin based on the English "puffin". The specific ''yelkouan'' is the Turkish word "wind chaser" for a shearwater. The yelkouan shearwater is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Manx shear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
