- Puffinus lherminieri
Identification
30 cm
- Blackish-brown upperparts, undersides of the tail and flight feathers
- Underparts, cheeks and throat are white.
Similar Species
Manx Shearwater is slightly larger with longer more-pointed wings, and white undertail coverts.
Cory's Shearwater is much larger with much lighter brown body and wings, heavy yellow bill and white tail band.
Great Shearwater is much larger with lighter body, smudgy brown belly, neat cap, narrow pointed wings. and white tail band.
Distribution
Breeds in the Caribbean. All breeding grounds are islands.
Taxonomy
Heinroth's Shearwater, Persian Shearwater, Tropical Shearwater and Galapagos Shearwater have been split from Audubon's Shearwater.
Subspecies
Audubon's Shearwater as treated here has only 2 subspecies. Several of these are treated in detail below, the rest are[1]:
- lherminieri: Breeds Bahamas and West Indies; formerly Bermuda
- loyemilleri: Islets in south-western Caribbean
Status of Galapagos Shearwater
According to Boegh (2007), the Galapagos Shearwater is "now known to differ strikingly both in DNA (with high support), physiology and voice from the members of the Audubon's/Little complex. Indeed, they're not even the closest relatives of the Galapagos Shearwater, which actually is closer to the Christmas Shearwater." SACC (2008) treats subalaris as a full species, citing the genetic data of Austin et al (2004) and long-ago noted morphological distinctiveness by Murphy (1927). However, Sibley & Monroe and Howard & Moore (2003) retain it as a subspecies of lherminieri.
Status of Bannerman's Shearwater
Austin et al (2004) treat bannermani as a full species based on molecular phylogeny, and are followed by Onley & Scofield (2007). Sibley & Monroe (1996) also grant it species status. However, Howard & Moore (2003) retain it as a subspecies of lherminieri while the 2009 update to Clements moved the subspecies bannermani into what they designate to be a newly elevated taxon, P. bailloni, Tropical Shearwater (see below). The Opus places it into P. bailloni.
Status of Tropical Shearwater
Austin and others in 2004 in a paper proposing a major rearrangement of taxonomy of smaller shearwaters, proposed that the taxons from tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans should be separated out as Tropical Shearwater, Puffinus bailloni. This taxon includes subspecies bailloni, dichrous (current subspecies nicolae, colstoni, and polynesia would disappear into this one), temptator and persicus (this latter form is currently considered a full species, Persian Shearwater by Opus based on a majority of the major checklists). The 2009 update to Clements did in fact elevate bailloni to species status, including subspecies bailloni, dichrous, nicolae, gunax, and bannermani.
Mascarene Shearwater, Puffinus atrodorsalis
Invalid taxon. Believed to have been a juvenile P. b. bailloni (Austin et al., 2004).
Other notes
Subspecies temptator is now believed to belong to Persian Shearwater but have in the past been included here.
If the Austin et al. 2004 revisions are followed, there would be a transfer of two subspecies from Little Shearwater to here: subspecies baroli and boydi. Some suthorities have expected that baroli and boydi would become one full species (Macaronesian Shearwater) or two species, a solution followed by Clements 2009.
Habitat
Tropical waters.
Behaviour
Breeding
It is a colonial breeder, nesting in small burrows and crevices in rocks. One egg is laid and incubated by both parents for 50; the young fledge 70 days later.
Diet
The diet includes small fish, squid and crustaceans.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Wikipedia
- Paper by Austin et al. (2004) describing phylogeny of small shearwaters
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Audubon's Shearwater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Audubon%27s_Shearwater
