Little Shearwater
Little Shearwater painted by Henry Constantine Richter
The little shearwater ( Puffinus assimilis ) is a seabird of the order Procellariiformes.
Features
The Little Shearwater has a body length of 25 to 30 cm and a wingspan of 56-63 cm. The top is relatively plain sooty black, while the underside is white. He strongly resembles the Manx shearwater. But compared to this it has relatively blunt, short and broad wings, more white in the face so that the black eye is visible, a narrow beak, a more Contrasting, narrower border of the wing, as well as diffuse lighter coverts, where on the great coverts also a whitish band can be seen to white middle coverts, and more curved than angled wings. He also has a round head, which is greatly increased in flight or even erect.
Behavior
The very flat over the water guided missile does not straight forward and is characterized by rapid, interrupted by only short gliding phases wing beats. It does not follow, in contrast to many other related species boats.
The species breeds from February to June (but appear in summer and autumn very rare and locally even further north ) in small colonies in inaccessible caves. These are only visited at night to avoid attacks by large gulls. Only one egg is laid per couple. The little shearwaters feed on small fish, crustaceans and molluscs, which they absorb standing with raised wings and feet hanging in the wind over the water.
Over the sea the little shearwater is mostly silent, but on moonless nights are bright in the colonies voices laughing, rhythmic, stressed on the second syllable cries heard.
Dissemination
The subspecies P. a tunneyi occurs on the islands in the southwest of Australia. P. elegans is found on a Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, the Chatham Islands and the Antipodes Islands. The subspecies P. a haurakiensis is present on the islands of New Zealand North East Iceland and the North Island. The subspecies P. a kermadecensis occur exclusively on the Kermadecinseln. The nominate P. assimilis is a native to Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.
Meanwhile separated species occur in the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira ( Baroli ), the Cape Verde Islands ( boydi ) and other islands of Macaronesia.
System
The species is divided into the following types:
- Puffinus assimilis assimilis Gould, 1838
- Puffinus assimilis elegans Giglioli & Salvadori, 1869
- Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis CA Fleming & Serventy, 1943
- Puffinus assimilis kermadecensis Murphy, 1927
- Puffinus assimilis tunneyi Mathews, 1912
Previously included the Newellsturmtaucher ( Puffinus newelli myrtae ) Bourne, 1959 ( Puffinus assimilis then myrtae ), Puffinus Baroli ( Bonaparte, 1857) ( Puffinus assimilis then Baroli ) and Puffinus boydi Mathews, 1912 ( Puffinus assimilis then boydi ) as additional subspecies. Mitochondrial DNA analysis finally led to a Absplittung or for Inclusion in a different kind
Occasionally one also finds Puffinus assimilis munda ( Salvin, 1876) in the literature. However, there is this to be a synonym for the subspecies P. a elegans.