Audubon's Shearwater

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The Audubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri is a common seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae. The taxonomy of the species is slightly confusing, it is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the Little Shearwater, and it itself has ten subspecies, two of which (Bannerman's Shearwater and the Persian Shearwater P. l. persicus) may be separate species.

The Audubon's Shearwater ranges across the Indian Ocean, the west Pacific, around the Galápagos Islands and in the Caribbean. The Bannerman's Shearwater nests on the Bonin Islands in the north Pacific, and the Persian Shearwater in the Arabian Sea.

The adults are not thought to wander or undertake great migrations like other members of the genus Puffinus, although young birds do so before breeding. The species is colonial, nesting in small burrows and crevices in rocks. Both parents share the responsibility of incubating the single egg, taking stints of between 2 to 10 days. The egg takes about 50 days to hatch, and another 70 days to rear to fledging. Once fledged a chick will take 8 years to reach breeding age. Like other shearwaters they are long lived, one bird ringed as an adult was caught again 11 years later.

The Audubon's Shearwater can reach 30 cm. (12 in.) long and weigh up to 170 g, about half the size of the Greater Shearwater. The upperparts and the undersides of the tail and flight feathers are blackish-brown, and the rest of the underparts, cheeks and throat are white. It can be confused with the Manx Shearwater which has white undertail covers.

The Audubon's Shearwater is variable in its preferred marine habitat, it can be found both in pelagic, offshore and inshore waters. It feeds in a variety of methods, both diving below the surface to chase prey, pursuit plunging, and surface feeding. It takes small fish, squid and crustaceans. Unlike other birds of the genus, it is not a ship follower. Its twittering calls and mewing are often only heard at night in the breeding colonies.

While some small populations are threatened, the Audubon's Shearwater as a species is considered to be not globally threatened.

References

BirdLife International (2006). [Puffinus lherminieri]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
del Hoyo,J., Elliot, A., Sargatal, J., eds (1992) Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume One Ostritch to Ducks, ISBN 84-87334-10-5

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