Hawaiian shearwater
Newell's shearwater or Hawaiian shearwater (ʻaʻo ), (Puffinus newelli ) is a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It belongs to a confusing group of shearwaters which are difficult to identify and whose classification is controversial. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus ) and is now often placed in Townsend's shearwater (Puffinus auricularis ). It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
A piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
Soaring birds can maintain flight without wing flapping, using rising air currents. Many gliding birds are able to "lock" their extended wings by m...
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, b...
Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust and is employed by gliding animals. Birds in particular use gliding flight to m...
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SocialFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withIt is a fairly small shearwater, 33 centimetres (13 in) in length. The wing is 223–249 millimetres (8.8–9.8 in) long and the tail is 78.9–88.8 millimetres (3.11–3.50 in). The bird weighs 0.340–0.425 kilograms (0.75–0.94 lb). The upperparts are black with a brown tinge while the underparts are white. The dark colouration on the face extends below the eye and is sharply separated from the white throat. There is a white patch on the flanks, extending onto the sides of the rump. The underwings are mainly white with a dark border. The undertail-coverts have a black and white pattern and appear white in the field. The bill is dark grey or brown and the legs and feet are mainly pale pink. The bird flies low over the water on stiff wings with a mixture of short glides and periods of rapid flapping. It utters a donkey-like braying call around the breeding areas. Townsend's shearwater (P. auricularis ) is very similar but has dark undertail-coverts, a shorter tail and a less sharp boundary between the black and white on the face.
It breeds in at least 20 colonies on mountain slopes in the Hawaiian Islands. The main colonies are on Kauaʻi, on slopes around the Alakaʻi Plateau and probably in the Mokolea Mountains. Its distribution on the other islands is uncertain but it is known to breed on Molokaʻi and the island of Hawaiʻi and may breed on Oʻahu, Maui and Lānaʻi. From April to November it can be seen in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands, particularly around Kauaʻi. Outside the breeding season it disperses into the tropical Pacific Ocean. Its distribution at sea is little known but many move south and east into the waters of the Equatorial Counter Current. It has been recorded as far west as the Mariana Islands. In the south there are records from Samoa in September 1977 and American Samoa in January 1993.
It feeds far from land, in areas of deep water (at least 2000 meters). Its diet is little known but includes squid and small fish. It dives into the water to catch its prey, swimming down to a depth of up to 10 meters using its wings to move forward. It is attracted to schools of tuna and gathers in flocks with other seabird species to catch prey driven to the surface by the tuna.
By 1908, it was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in 1947 and found breeding on Kauaʻi in 1967. The nest site is a burrow dug into a steep slope, usually sheltered by uluhe (Dicranopteris linearis ferns). A single white egg is laid during the first two weeks of June. Both parents incubate the egg and an incubation period of 62 days has been recorded. The young birds leave the nest in October, 88–100 days after hatching. They fly out to sea and are no longer dependent on their parents.
It was formerly a much more common bird with a wider breeding distribution in the islands. It has declined due to habitat loss and predation by introduced species such as mongooses, rats, cats and barn owls. Young birds in particular are attracted to the lights of urban areas at night and many die in collisions with power lines and buildings. The population was estimated at 84,000 birds in the mid-1990s. A severe decline has occurred in recent years which may be associated with the effects of Hurricane Iniki in 1992.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...