Puffinus carneipes (Flesh-footed
shearwater)
Bruinpylstormvoël [Afrikaans]; Australische grote
pijlstormvogel [Dutch]; Puffin à pieds pâles [French]; Blaßfuß-sturmtaucher
[German]; Pardela-de-patas-rosadas [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) > Order: Ciconiiformes
> Family: Procellariidae
Distribution and habitat
Breeds at St Paul Island (South Indian Ocean) and Lord Howe
Island (off eastern Australia), as well as islands off New Zealand and southern
Australia, after which it disperses across the Indian and Pacific Ocean,
extending into southern African waters. Here it occurs off the eastern and
southern coast, and is most common in patch of sea off northern KwaZulu-Natal,
but otherwise becoming increasingly scarce further west up to Cape Town, Western
Cape.
Movements and migrations
Trans-equatorial migrant, departing from its
colonies in May and returning between August and September. It is
non-breeding adults and immature birds are present year-round in
southern African waters, although its numbers off the eastern coast
peak in winter when they are joined by breeding adults. Strangely
enough it is most common off the Western Cape in Summer, from
October-May.
Food
It mainly eats fish, squid and trawler offal, doing most of
its foraging by grabbing water from the water surface (sometimes in a shallow
dive), or alternatively pursuit-diving with half-folded wings up to a depth of
about 13 metres.
Threats
Not threatened, although introduced predators at breeding
colonies and mortalities on longlines are both cause for concern.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
-
Harrison, J.A., Allan, D.G., Underhill, L.G., Herremans, M.,
Tree. A.J., Parker, V. & Brown, C.J. (eds). 1997. The atlas of southern
African birds. Vol. 2: Passerines. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg.
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