Heinroth's Shearwater
The Heinroth shearwater ( Puffinus heinrothi ) is a seabird of the genus Puffinus within the family of petrels ( Procellariidae ). The specific epithet honors the German ornithologist Oskar Heinroth, who collected the holotype in the early 20th century.
Features
The Heinroth shearwater reaches a body length of 27 cm. The top is brown-black. Cheeks and throat are gray-brown and the underside is dark brown. The plumage of the belly center is white with dark brown seams. The small under wing-coverts are dark brown; the medium and large are white and contrast with the dark wings, so that they form a broad, bright band on the lower wing. The long, thin beak is gray-black. The feet are flesh colored on the bottom, on the top and black on the sides. The iris is brown or blue.
Dissemination
The distribution area of Heinroth - shearwater extends over the Bismarck Archipelago ( where the species particularly in New Britain and Madang and on the north coast of New Guinea occurs ), the waters around Bougainville and on Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.
Habitat and behavior
The Heinroth Shearwater goes on the high seas, probably in the distant shore open water area in search of food. The breeding areas are located in high mountains in the country. Nothing more is known about his life.
Status
The Heinroth shearwater was long known only from seven specimens: the 1901 in the Blanche Bay captured on New Britain by Oskar Heinroth holotype and six other individuals were observed in 1934 at Watom Iceland. In 1979, he was then rediscovered by the New Zealand ornithologist Don Hadden on Bougainville. Although the Heinroth shearwater breeds in high, inaccessible mountains, goes on all the islands, where the species was detected, a risk of rats, cats and dogs from. Rats were discovered at an altitude of 900 m on the island Kolombangara and are a potential threat to the chicks. BirdLife International classifies the Heinroth shearwater in the category " endangered" ( vulnerable ) and estimates the world stock to 250 to 1000 copies.