Sooty shearwater
| Sooty shearwater | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | Neornithes |
| Infraclass: | Neognathae |
| Superorder: | Neoaves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Ardenna |
| Species: | A. grisea |
| Binomial name | |
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Ardenna grisea (Gmelin, 1789) |
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| Range of the Sooty shearwater in dark blue and breeding sites in yellow | |
The sooty shearwater (Ardenna grisea) is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Ardenna was first used to refer to a seabird by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1603, and grisea is medieval Latin for "grey".
In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (A. pacificus) and the Australian short-tailed shearwater (A. tenuirostris).
It appears to be particularly closely related to the great shearwater (A. gravis) and the short-tailed shearwater, all blunt-tailed, black-billed species, but its precise relationships are obscure. In any case, these three species are among the larger species of shearwater that have been moved into a separate genus Ardenna based on a phylogenetic analysis of DNA.
Sooty shearwaters are 40–51 cm in length with a 94–110 cm wingspan. It has the typical "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, giving the impression of a very small albatross. This shearwater is identifiable by its dark plumage, which is responsible for its name. In poor viewing conditions, it looks all black, but in good light, it shows as dark chocolate-brown a silvery strip along the center of the underwing.
Usually loud, sooty shearwaters coo and croak while on the breeding grounds.
In the Atlantic, it is the only such bird, whereas in the Pacific part of its range, other all-dark large shearwaters are found. The short-tailed shearwater in particular is almost impossible to tell apart from the present species at a distance.
Sooty shearwaters breed on small islands in the south Pacific and south Atlantic Oceans, mainly around New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego and also in the Auckland Islands and Phillip Island off Norfolk Island. They start breeding in October, and incubate their young for about 54 days. Once the chick hatches, the parents raise their chick for 86 to 109 days.
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Wikipedia