The little shearwater (''Puffinus assimilis'') is a small
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 shearwa ...
in the
petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes.
Description
The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group (all except the albatross f ...
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 ...
. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the
puffin
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
s, which are
auk
An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...
s, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting seabirds.
Description
This shearwater has the typically "shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few beats, the wingtips almost touching the water, though in light winds it has a more flapping flight than that of its larger relatives. In flight it looks cross-shaped, with its wings held at right angles to the body, its colouration changing from black to white as the black upperparts and white underparts are alternately exposed as it travels low over the sea.
At in length with a wingspan, it is like a small
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 ...
but has proportionally shorter and broader wings, with a pale area on the inner flight feathers. Its bill is more slender than that of Manx, and its dark eye stands out against the surrounding white area.
Taxonomy
mtDNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...
cytochrome ''b'' sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...
data indicate that the former North Atlantic little shearwater group (
Boyd's shearwater
Egg of ''Puffinus boydi''(coll. MHNT)
Boyd's shearwater (''Puffinus boydi''), also known as the Cape Verde little shearwater, is a small shearwater which breeds in the Cape Verde archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean some 570 km off the coast ...
, ''P. boydi'' and
Barolo shearwater
The Barolo shearwater (''Puffinus baroli''), also known as the North Atlantic little shearwater or Macaronesian shearwater, is a small shearwater which breeds in the Azores and Canary Islands, Canaries of Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. ...
, ''P. baroli'') is closer to
Audubon's shearwater (Austin 1996, Heidrich ''et al.'' 1998), (although many taxonomists now consider them to be distinct species), and
Rapa shearwater (''P. myrtae''), being closer to the
Newell's and possibly
Townsend's shearwater
Townsend's shearwater (''Puffinus auricularis'') is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae.
Taxonomy
Its relationships are unresolved. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian shearwater (''Puffi ...
(Austin ''et al.'' 2004).
Heinroth's shearwater
Heinroth's shearwater (''Puffinus heinrothi'') is a poorly known seabird in the family Procellariidae. Probably a close relative of the little shearwater or Audubon's shearwater (with which it is sometimes considered conspecific), it is distingu ...
was also sometimes considered a subspecies of this bird; the relationship between the little and Audubon's shearwater is probably not as close as long believed (Austin 1996, Heidrich ''et al.'' 1998, Austin ''et al.'' 2001, but see also Penhallurick & Wink 2004, and Rheindt & Austin 2005). The
subantarctic shearwater
The subantarctic shearwater (''Puffinus elegans'') is a small bird species which breeds in Tristan da Cunha, islands of the southern Indian Ocean and New Zealand Subantarctic Islands.
Taxonomy
The subantarctic shearwater is sometimes considered ...
was also considered conspecific (Onley & Scofield 2007, Gill et al. 2010)
Distribution and habitat
* ''P. a. assimilis'' Gould, 1838 —
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
and
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
* ''P. a. haurakiensis'' Fleming, CA & Serventy, 1943 — northeastern
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
(NZ)
* ''P. a. kermadecensis'' Murphy, 1927 —
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total are ...
* ''P. a. tunneyi'' Mathews, 1912 — islands off southwestern Australia
It breeds in colonies on islands and coastal cliffs, nesting in
burrows which are only visited at night to avoid predation by large
gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
s.
Behaviour
This is a gregarious species, which can be seen in large numbers from boats or headlands, especially on
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
in autumn. It feeds on
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
and
mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
s. It does not follow boats. It is silent at sea, but at night the breeding colonies are alive with raucous cackling calls.
It nests in cavities located in grassy fields or in those found among rocks.
The little shearwater usually produces a
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
of one clear white egg, measuring around . The egg is incubated for 52 to 58 days by both sexes.
References
*Austin, Jeremy J. (1996): Molecular Phylogenetics of ''Puffinus'' Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome ''b'' Gene Sequences. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 6(1): 77–88.
(HTML abstract)
*Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent & Pasquet, Eric (2004): A global molecular phylogeny of the small ''Puffinus'' shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater complex. ''
Auk
An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...
'' 121(3): 847–864.
DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121 847:AGMPOT.0.CO;2HTML abstract*Collinson, M. (2006)
Splitting headaches? Recent taxonomic changes affecting the British and Western Palaearctic lists ''
British Birds'' 99(6): 306–323.
*Heidrich, Petra; Amengual, José F. & Wink, Michael (1998): Phylogenetic relationships in Mediterranean and North Atlantic shearwaters (Aves: Procellariidae) based on nucleotide sequences of mtDNA. ''Biochemical Systematics and Ecology'' 26(2): 145–170.
PDF fulltext*Penhallurick, John & Wink, Michael (2004): Analysis of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Procellariformes based on complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome ''b'' gene. ''
Emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...
'' 104(2): 125–147.
(HTML abstract)
*Rheindt, F. E. & Austin, Jeremy J. (2005): Major analytical and conceptual shortcomings in a recent taxonomic revision of the Procellariiformes - A reply to Penhallurick and Wink (2004). ''
Emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...
'' 105(2): 181–186.
PDF fulltext
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017
little shearwater
The little shearwater (''Puffinus assimilis'') is a small shearwater in the petrel family Procellariidae. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the puffins, which are auks, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting s ...
Birds of Australia
Birds of New Zealand
little shearwater
The little shearwater (''Puffinus assimilis'') is a small shearwater in the petrel family Procellariidae. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the puffins, which are auks, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting s ...
little shearwater
The little shearwater (''Puffinus assimilis'') is a small shearwater in the petrel family Procellariidae. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the puffins, which are auks, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting s ...