Muttonbird or mutton bird may refer to species of petrel, especially shearwaters, whose young are harvested for food and other uses before they

fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...

in Australia and New Zealand. The English term "muttonbird" originally emerged among settlers on

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 ...

as the strong taste and fattiness of these birds' meat was likened to mutton. The

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name for the birds, ''tītī'', is also widely used in New Zealand.

Species of bird

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 A ...

, nesting in south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Furneaux Islands * Sooty shearwater, nesting mainly in New Zealand and islands in the South Atlantic Ocean * Wedge-tailed shearwater, nesting throughout the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans * Flesh-footed shearwater, nesting on Lord Howe Island

Places

Mutton Bird Island Mutton Bird Island is an irregularly shaped unpopulated island located close to the south-western coast of Tasmania, Australia. Situated some south of where the mouth of Port Davey meets the Southern Ocean, the is the largest of the eight i ...

, Tasmania, Australia **

South East Mutton Bird Islet South East Mutton Bird Islet is a steep unpopulated islet located close to the south-western coast of Tasmania, Australia. Situated south of where the mouth of Port Davey meets the Southern Ocean, the islet is one of the eight islands that ...

** South West Mutton Bird Islet * Titi/Muttonbird Islands, New Zealand

Music

The Mutton Birds The Mutton Birds were a New Zealand rock music group formed in Auckland in 1991 by Ross Burge, David Long and Don McGlashan, with Alan Gregg joining a year later. Four of their albums reached the top 10 on the New Zealand Albums Chart ...

, band from Auckland ** ''The Mutton Birds'' (album)

Species of bird

Places

Music

See also