At a glanceModest sized black and white temperate shearwater Probably the most studied species of shearwater Northernmost breeding species of any of the shearwaters Obligate transequatorial migrant Known to have bread on Bermuda, but now extirpated from the region as a breeding species, occurs in region as a spring migrant |
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Modest sized shearwater (30-38 cm [12-15 inches] in length), black on dorsal surface, white on ventral surface. Similar, but larger than Little shearwater and Audubon’s shearwater. Several additional taxa breed in Mediterranean Sea but they are seldom, if ever, encountered in Western North Atlantic.
Filoplumes present on adults in winter and spring. Majority of
adults first breed in 5th to 6th year. Maximum longevity for banded
birds 32-36 years.
Fresh juvenile plumage
blackish dorsally, extending below the eye on sides of head, cheeks and
sides of neck mottled black and white, but overall similar to adult.
This is the most northern
breeding species of shearwater. Breeds primarily at high latitudes in
the Old World, but as of 1975 this species was discovered nesting in
Martha’s Vineyard and a small colony was discovered in Newfoundland.
Banded specimens collected off North America indicate that most Western
North Atlantic records are of birds from breeding colonies in the
British Isles. In the focus region of this website reported to have
bred three times in Bermuda prior to 1905; nesting period of March to
May (Bourne 1957, but see Bannerman 1959).
This shearwater is for the most part an obligate transequatorial
migrant and is pelagic. After the breeding season, birds migrate south
and winter off the west coast of South Africa. They migrate in a
clockwise fashion in the Atlantic and may return to their breeding
grounds (notably the British Isles, but other eastern Atlantic sites as
well), flying northward over the western North Atlantic.
Manx shearwaters occur at sea commonly, though seasonally from Maryland
northward. About 5,000 Manx Shearwaters forage over northern shelf
waters (New England, Georges Bank, and the Gulf of Maine) in the
summer. Off the southeast Atlantic coast they are regular migrants and
some individuals over-winter. This is a common migrant in
waters around Bermuda. It is most common during the spring migration
period (March through May) in the Western North Atlantic. The species
is rare in upper Gulf of Mexico (off Alabama and Texas) and in the
Greater Antilles (Lee 1995). Status off Northern South America unknown
but probably never abundant there. Typically found over deep waters of
Outer Continental Shelf.
Common, stable breeding populations in Eastern North Atlantic, small and newly established (mid 1970s) and expanding breeding populations in Western North Atlantic. Apparently nested in Bermuda in small numbers but that population has been extinct since 1905.
None for the greater West Indies region. It would be interesting to reintroduce this species to Bermuda. Bermuda is also a site where Audubon’s Shearwaters nested historically, but they too have long been extirpated.
Bannermnn,
D. A. 1959. Manx Shearwater. Pp. 86-100. In Birds of the British Isles.
Vol. 8 (D. A. Bannerman, ed.). Oliver and Boyd, London.
Bourne, W. R. P. 1957. The breeding birds of Bermuda. Ibis 99: 94-105.
Brooke, M. 1990. The Manx Shearwater. T. and A. D. Poyser, London.
Lee, D. S. 1995. The pelagic ecology of Manx Shearwaters, Puffinus
puffinus, off the Southeastern United States of America. Marine
Ornithology 23: 107-119.
Lee, D. S. and J. C. Haney. 1996. Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus).
In The Birds of North America, No. 257 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.).
The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American
Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
Powers, K. D. 1983. Pelagic distribution of marine birds off the
Northeastern United States. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/NEC-27.
Tucker, G. M. and M. F. Heath. 1994. Birds in Europe, their
conservation status. Birdlife Conservation Series No. 3.
Birdlife International, Cambridge.
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Last
updated: May 24, 2009 |
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