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Buller's shearwater

November 23, 2023

Buller's shearwater (Ardenna bulleri) is a Pacific species of seabird in the family Procellariidae; it is also known as the grey-backed shearwater or New Zealand shearwater. A member of the black-billed wedge-tailed Thyellodroma group, among the larger shearwaters of the genus Ardenna, it forms a superspecies with the wedge-tailed shearwater (A. pacificus).[2]

Buller's shearwater
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Ardenna
Species:
A. bulleri
Binomial name
Ardenna bulleri
(Salvin, 1888)

Description edit

 
Migrating bird in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary offshore California, United States; note upperwing pattern

Adults birds are 46–47 cm (18–19 in) in length, with a 97–99 cm (38–39 in) wingspan, and have been recorded to weigh 342–425 g (12.1–15.0 oz). The upperside of Buller's shearwater is bluish grey. A blackish stripe runs from the tertiary remiges to the primary wing coverts. The primary remiges are blackish, also; the two black areas do not meet at the hand, however; the area between them is a rather light grey, and under bright light may appear almost white. With the bird facing upwards, the pattern gives the impression of a broken black "M", with light grey interspersing areas.[3]

The underside is bright white; on the head the upperside's grey extends town to eye height and the white cheeks may shine up conspicuously, as in the smaller shearwaters of Puffinus sensu stricto. The rectrices are blackish and the tail is wedge-shaped; the bill and irises are dark. Fledged juveniles already have the adult's colouration; the nestlings are covered in grey down feathers.[3]

Compared to other shearwaters, the species is unusually easy to identify at sea by its combination of considerable size and the distinctive, M-shaped banding pattern on its upperside while flying, uniquely among its genus and more akin to some gadfly petrels (Pterodroma), the prions (Pachyptila) and their relative, the blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea). These are all much smaller birds, perhaps two-thirds in length and wingspan and less than half in bulk of Buller's shearwater.[3]

Range and ecology edit

This species is pelagic like the other Ardenna shearwaters; it is a transequatorial migrant ranging across most of the Pacific Ocean outside the breeding season. Though it occurs in the subarctic waters off Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, it is not documented in the subantarctic Pacific; this apparent absence might simply be due to the lack of study opportunities in the vast islandless region south of the Polynesian Triangle, however. It is fairly common well off the west coast of the United States during late summer and early autumn, and can generally be observed not far from land along the whole temperate and tropical coastlines of the Americas. Its general absence from most of Melanesia and western Micronesia – where human settlement and sea traffic are considerable – is thus probably genuine; only isolated records, such as from the Marianas, Palau, and Yap, exist from west and southwest of the Marshall Islands.[4] A vagrant bird was also recorded in the Atlantic once, offshore New Jersey, United States.[3]

Buller's shearwater feeds mainly on fish, squid, and crustaceans such as the krill Nyctiphanes australis. It does occasionally follow ships, such as fishing trawlers, and may be part of a mixed-species feeding flock. Food is caught mainly at a head's length below the surface at most, the bird either picking it up with the bill only, often out of flight, or briefly inserting the entire head, usually while swimming. It neither dives out of flight very often, nor in a plunge off the water's surface.[3]

It is a colonial nester, breeding predominantly on Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi, the main islands of the Poor Knights group offshore northern New Zealand.[5] This bird nests in burrows, rock crevices, or under tree roots, preferring densely forested slopes.[6] Buller's shearwater can also be found to breed in cracked-up rock on treeless stacks or cliffs, however, and most of the other colonies – on the smaller Poor Knights islands between the main islands and off the southeast of Aorangi[verification needed] – are of such a nature. A pair was observed to breed on the Simmonds Islands in 1980,[7] but this seems to have been an isolated incident.[3]

The breeding season starts in October and lasts for almost half a year. A single egg is incubated for about 51 days, with the parents changing between incubation and feeding every 4 days or so. Time to fledging is not well known, but by analogy with Buller's shearwater's relatives assumed to be around 100 days.[3]

In the past, it was heavily used as a food source by the Māori, and on Aorangi it suffered massive predation by feral pigs. Its population had crashed to a low of just 100-200 pairs on Aorangi in the late 1930s. The pigs were removed from the island in 1936, and the shearwater population recovered, numbering 200,000 pairs again in the early 1980s to approach carrying capacity on the island at the end of the 20th century. At all times, however, the colonies at Tawhiti Rahi and on the smaller islets could supply birds for the resettlement of Aorangi, and Buller's shearwater was never considered threatened with extinction in the foreseeable future. Indeed, it is a very abundant bird, with an estimated world population of 2.5 million birds. As it is not known to occur on any larger island in the region outside the Poor Knights Islands, it is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN: a single localized catastrophe could wipe the species out.[8]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Ardenna bulleri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22698182A132632044. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22698182A132632044.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Carboneras (1992), Austin (1996), Austin et al. (2004), Penhallurick & Wink (2004)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Carboneras (1992)
  4. ^ Wiles et al. (2004)
  5. ^ Falla, R.A. (1924). "Discovery of a Breeding Place of Buller's Shearwater, Poor Knights Island, N.Z". Emu. 24: 37–43. doi:10.1071/MU924037.
  6. ^ Marchant, S; Higgins, P. J. (1990). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Oxford University Press (Melbourne and New York). ISBN 0195530683.
  7. ^ IUCN (2008)
  8. ^ Carboneras (1992), IUCN (2008)

Further reading edit

  • Austin, Jeremy J. (1996): Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 6(1): 77–88. doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060 (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 121(3): 847–864. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0847:AGMPOT]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract HTML fulltext without images
  • Carboneras, Carles (1992): 58. Buller's Shearwater. In: del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (eds.): Handbook of Birds of the World (Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks): 254, plate 16. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-10-5
  • Penhallurick, John & Wink, Michael (2004): Analysis of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Procellariiformes based on complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Emu 104(2): 125–147. doi:10.1071/MU01060 (HTML abstract)
  • Wiles, Gary J.; Johnson, Nathan C.; de Cruz, Justine B.; Dutson, Guy; Camacho, Vicente A.; Kepler, Angela Kay; Vice, Daniel S.; Garrett, Kimball L.; Kessler, Curt C. & Pratt, H. Douglas (2004): New and Noteworthy Bird Records for Micronesia, 1986–2003. Micronesica 37(1): 69–96.

Further reading edit

External links edit

  • Buller's shearwater photos
  • BirdLife species factsheet
  • ARKive -
  • New Zealand Birds Online

November 23, 2023
buller, shearwater, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, january, 2009, template, removal, help, ardenna, bulleri, . This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2009 template removal help Buller s shearwater Ardenna bulleri is a Pacific species of seabird in the family Procellariidae it is also known as the grey backed shearwater or New Zealand shearwater A member of the black billed wedge tailed Thyellodroma group among the larger shearwaters of the genus Ardenna it forms a superspecies with the wedge tailed shearwater A pacificus 2 Buller s shearwaterConservation statusVulnerable IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder ProcellariiformesFamily ProcellariidaeGenus ArdennaSpecies A bulleriBinomial nameArdenna bulleri Salvin 1888 Contents 1 Description 2 Range and ecology 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 Further reading 7 External linksDescription edit nbsp Migrating bird in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary offshore California United States note upperwing patternAdults birds are 46 47 cm 18 19 in in length with a 97 99 cm 38 39 in wingspan and have been recorded to weigh 342 425 g 12 1 15 0 oz The upperside of Buller s shearwater is bluish grey A blackish stripe runs from the tertiary remiges to the primary wing coverts The primary remiges are blackish also the two black areas do not meet at the hand however the area between them is a rather light grey and under bright light may appear almost white With the bird facing upwards the pattern gives the impression of a broken black M with light grey interspersing areas 3 The underside is bright white on the head the upperside s grey extends town to eye height and the white cheeks may shine up conspicuously as in the smaller shearwaters of Puffinus sensu stricto The rectrices are blackish and the tail is wedge shaped the bill and irises are dark Fledged juveniles already have the adult s colouration the nestlings are covered in grey down feathers 3 Compared to other shearwaters the species is unusually easy to identify at sea by its combination of considerable size and the distinctive M shaped banding pattern on its upperside while flying uniquely among its genus and more akin to some gadfly petrels Pterodroma the prions Pachyptila and their relative the blue petrel Halobaena caerulea These are all much smaller birds perhaps two thirds in length and wingspan and less than half in bulk of Buller s shearwater 3 Range and ecology editThis species is pelagic like the other Ardenna shearwaters it is a transequatorial migrant ranging across most of the Pacific Ocean outside the breeding season Though it occurs in the subarctic waters off Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands it is not documented in the subantarctic Pacific this apparent absence might simply be due to the lack of study opportunities in the vast islandless region south of the Polynesian Triangle however It is fairly common well off the west coast of the United States during late summer and early autumn and can generally be observed not far from land along the whole temperate and tropical coastlines of the Americas Its general absence from most of Melanesia and western Micronesia where human settlement and sea traffic are considerable is thus probably genuine only isolated records such as from the Marianas Palau and Yap exist from west and southwest of the Marshall Islands 4 A vagrant bird was also recorded in the Atlantic once offshore New Jersey United States 3 Buller s shearwater feeds mainly on fish squid and crustaceans such as the krill Nyctiphanes australis It does occasionally follow ships such as fishing trawlers and may be part of a mixed species feeding flock Food is caught mainly at a head s length below the surface at most the bird either picking it up with the bill only often out of flight or briefly inserting the entire head usually while swimming It neither dives out of flight very often nor in a plunge off the water s surface 3 It is a colonial nester breeding predominantly on Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi the main islands of the Poor Knights group offshore northern New Zealand 5 This bird nests in burrows rock crevices or under tree roots preferring densely forested slopes 6 Buller s shearwater can also be found to breed in cracked up rock on treeless stacks or cliffs however and most of the other colonies on the smaller Poor Knights islands between the main islands and off the southeast of Aorangi verification needed are of such a nature A pair was observed to breed on the Simmonds Islands in 1980 7 but this seems to have been an isolated incident 3 The breeding season starts in October and lasts for almost half a year A single egg is incubated for about 51 days with the parents changing between incubation and feeding every 4 days or so Time to fledging is not well known but by analogy with Buller s shearwater s relatives assumed to be around 100 days 3 In the past it was heavily used as a food source by the Maori and on Aorangi it suffered massive predation by feral pigs Its population had crashed to a low of just 100 200 pairs on Aorangi in the late 1930s The pigs were removed from the island in 1936 and the shearwater population recovered numbering 200 000 pairs again in the early 1980s to approach carrying capacity on the island at the end of the 20th century At all times however the colonies at Tawhiti Rahi and on the smaller islets could supply birds for the resettlement of Aorangi and Buller s shearwater was never considered threatened with extinction in the foreseeable future Indeed it is a very abundant bird with an estimated world population of 2 5 million birds As it is not known to occur on any larger island in the region outside the Poor Knights Islands it is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN a single localized catastrophe could wipe the species out 8 See also editSeabird colonyReferences edit BirdLife International 2018 Ardenna bulleri IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018 e T22698182A132632044 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2018 2 RLTS T22698182A132632044 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Carboneras 1992 Austin 1996 Austin et al 2004 Penhallurick amp Wink 2004 a b c d e f g Carboneras 1992 Wiles et al 2004 Falla R A 1924 Discovery of a Breeding Place of Buller s Shearwater Poor Knights Island N Z Emu 24 37 43 doi 10 1071 MU924037 Marchant S Higgins P J 1990 Handbook of Australian New Zealand and Antarctic birds Oxford University Press Melbourne and New York ISBN 0195530683 IUCN 2008 Carboneras 1992 IUCN 2008 Further reading editAustin Jeremy J 1996 Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences Mol Phylogenet Evol 6 1 77 88 doi 10 1006 mpev 1996 0060 HTML abstract Austin Jeremy J Bretagnolle Vincent amp Pasquet Eric 2004 A global molecular phylogeny of the small Puffinus shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little Audubon s Shearwater complex Auk 121 3 847 864 DOI 10 1642 0004 8038 2004 121 0847 AGMPOT 2 0 CO 2 HTML abstract HTML fulltext without images Carboneras Carles 1992 58 Buller s Shearwater In del Hoyo Josep Elliott Andrew amp Sargatal Jordi eds Handbook of Birds of the World Vol 1 Ostrich to Ducks 254 plate 16 Lynx Edicions Barcelona ISBN 84 87334 10 5 Penhallurick John amp Wink Michael 2004 Analysis of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Procellariiformes based on complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene Emu 104 2 125 147 doi 10 1071 MU01060 HTML abstract Wiles Gary J Johnson Nathan C de Cruz Justine B Dutson Guy Camacho Vicente A Kepler Angela Kay Vice Daniel S Garrett Kimball L Kessler Curt C amp Pratt H Douglas 2004 New and Noteworthy Bird Records for Micronesia 1986 2003 Micronesica 37 1 69 96 HTML abstractFurther reading editHarrison Peter 1983 Seabirds An Identification Guide Croom Helm Beckenham ISBN 0 7099 1207 2 National Geographic Society 2002 Field Guide to the Birds of North America National Geographic Washington DC ISBN 0 7922 6877 6External links editBuller s shearwater photos BirdLife species factsheet ARKive images and movies of the Buller s shearwater Puffinus bulleri New Zealand Birds Online Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Buller 27s shearwater amp oldid 1118983399, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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