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Puffinus puffinus (Manx shearwater) 

Swartbekpylstormvoël [Afrikaans]; Vale pijlstormvogel [Dutch]; Puffin des Anglais [French]; Schwarzschnabel-sturmtaucher [German]; Pardela do Atlântico [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

Puffinus puffinus (Manx shearwater) Puffinus puffinus (Manx shearwater)
Manx shearwater, offshore from Cape Town, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©] Manx shearwater, offshore from Cape Town, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©]
Puffinus puffinus (Manx shearwater)

Manx shearwater, offshore from Cape Town, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©]

Distribution and habitat

Breeds at islands at temperate North Atlantic Ocean off western Europe and North America, after which it heads south to the South Atlantic Ocean, mainly off eastern South-America but also in annually increasing numbers in southern African waters. Here it is fairly common off the coast of Namibia and the Northern and Western Cape, especially near the Cape Peninsula, while more scarce further out to sea and off the Eastern Cape.

Movements and migrations

Departs from its breeding colonies in August and September and migrates through the tropics to the east coast of South America and southern African waters. It stays here from October-February before returning to its breeding colonies by February-April.

Food 

It mainly eats pelagic schooling fish such as Anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus) supplemented with cetacean faeces and offal from fishing vessels, doing most of its foraging by grabbing from the water surface or diving to greater depths.

Threats

Not threatened.

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.