" YOU can help make a difference, get involved... "
PCO Press Room
Sponsors
Past Events
COP15
Link to PCO
Great Shearwater
last update: Mar 18, 2009 09:28 PM
Latin name: Puffinus gravis
Population: At least 4 million.
Cites classified: Least Concern (IUCN, 2008)
Where found: This shearwater, like the Sooty Shearwater, follows a circular route, moving up the eastern seaboard of first South and then North America, before crossing the Atlantic in August. It can be quite common off the south-western coasts of Great Britain and Ireland before heading back south again, this time down the eastern littoral of the Atlantic. It breeds on Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island, Tristan da Cunha, and Gough Island.
Wingspan: 100-118 cm
Length: 43-51 cm
Weight: 715-950 g
Mating/Breeding: They start breeding in October/November in self-excavated burrows, in dense tussac grassland and low woodland. It lays one egg, incubated for about 56 days. The chicks fledge after about 120 days.
Eggs: White.
Hunting Habits: It catches its food from the surface or by plunge-diving. It readily follows fishing boats, where it indulges in noisy squabbles.
Feed on: Fish and squid.
Threats: Not globally threatened.
Colour/Looks: It is identifiable by its size, dark upperparts, and underparts white except for a brown belly patch and dark shoulder markings. It has a black cap, black bill, and a white "horseshoe" on the base of the tail.
Interesting Trivia:
- It is one of only a few bird species to migrate from breeding grounds in the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere, the normal pattern being the other way round.
- This bird has the typically "shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few wing beats, the wingtips almost touching the water. Its flight is powerful and direct, with wings held stiff and straight.
More info:
- Hadoram Shirihai, A complete guide to Antarctic wildlife (2002)
- David McGonigal & Lynn Woodworth, Antarctica and the Arctic. The complete encyclopedia (2001)
