Puffinus bailloni (Tropical shearwater, Audubon's Shearwater) 

[= Puffinus lherminieri] 

Swartkroonpylstormvoël [Afrikaans]; Tropiese kleinpylstormvoël [Afrikaans]; Audubon-pijlstormvogel [Dutch]; Puffin d'Audubon [French]; Audubonsturmtaucher [German]; Pardela de Audubon [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

Tropical shearwater, offshore from Massachusetts, USA. [photo Glen Tepke ©]

Distribution and habitat

Breeds at tropical Indo-Pacific islands, including Réunion and Europa Island, as well as the Seychelles and Comores. In the non-breeding season it disperses to the sea surrounding its breeding colonies, with some birds reaching the Mozambique Channel, which extends into the southern African waters. Here it is generally rare to the east of central Mozambique, with vagrant records off KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

Food 

It does most of its foraging by grabbing prey from the water surface or diving up to a depth of 35 metres.

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.