What does a wedge tailed shearwater eat?

What eats a Shearwater?

Wedge-tailed shearwaters are vulnerable to predation by invasive species, including feral cats, rats and pigs, which kill and eat birds and eggs.

What is the breeding season of the wedge-tailed Shearwater bird?

The breeding season of the wedge-tailed shearwater bird occurs at different times throughout the year according to their geographic range. Like, the breeding season occurs around October–March at Chagos archipelago, it occurs around early August-late May in South Australia, or it occurs around early March-late November in Hawaii.

What does a wedge tailed shearwater look like?

The wedge-tailed shearwater is a large-sized shearwater species. They are polymorphic, so birds of a dark shade and of a light shade can be seen. All birds have a long tail, pale flesh-colored legs, a slender body, a dark slate gray-colored slender bill, a wedge-shaped tail, and a small head.

Where do wedge tailed shearwaters migrate?

Wedge-tailed shearwaters are pelagic in the tropical and subtropical Pacific and Indian oceans, mainly between 35°N and 35°S. Southern hemisphere birds migrate north of the Equator, with the Kermadec population migrating to the south-east North Pacific during the austral winter.

What is the Hawaiian name of the wedge-tailed shearwater?

The wedge-tailed shearwater Hawaiian name is ‘Ua’u Kani. The ‘Ua’u Kani, or wedge-tailed shearwater, is the largest among all shearwaters. The wedge-tailed shearwater feathers come in two morphs – dark and pale morph. However, both morph birds have slender bills and pale legs.

Do wedge-tailed shearwaters use bimodal foraging strategies during chick-rearing?

A bimodal foraging strategy during chick -rearing was observed, with the Wedge- tailed Shearwaters undertaking long foraging trips after a series of short foraging trips.

What is the difference between wedge-tailed and short-tailed shearwater?

Short-tailed shearwater is shorter (42 cm) but heavier (550 g), with a shorter bill, shorter tail, and greyish feet. Christmas Island shearwater is smaller and shorter-tailed, with dark legs and feet. The wedge-tailed shearwater is a widely distributed migratory species throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Where can you see wedge-tailed shearwater in Australia?

You can visit a wedge-tailed shearwater breeding colony on Muttonbird Island near Coffs Harbour. This island is connected to the mainland by a breakwater, and visits can be made at night, providing visitors stay on the walking track.

Which is the largest shearwater in the world?

The ‘Ua’u Kani, or wedge-tailed shearwater, is the largest among all shearwaters. The wedge-tailed shearwater feathers come in two morphs – dark and pale morph. However, both morph birds have slender bills and pale legs. The bill is usually dark slate gray-colored while the legs are flesh-colored.

What is the largest shearwater in the world?

The wedge-tailed shearwater is the largest tropical shearwater, and occurs in two plumage forms: dark-bellied and pale-bellied. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans, where they breed on tropical or subtropical islands, including the Kermadec Islands.

What do sea mounts have to do with chick rearing?

A similar pattern to utilise areas associated with sea mounts was also observed for the long foraging trips during chick rearing, though some of the foraging was concentrated in deeper waters.

What habitat does WTS use for foraging during chick rearing?

The habitat used by WTS performing short foraging trips during chick rearing were < 300 km from the colony, and the trips were typically <3 days. This is similar to WTS from Lord Howe Island (Peck and Congdon 2005), and at the Seychelles (Catry et al. 2009).

What is the WTS’s foraging strategy?

However, the WTS in this study also engaged in a bimodal foraging strategy, undertaking long foraging trips after a series of short foraging trips.

Where does the great shearwater migrate?

The great shearwater, like the sooty shearwater, follows a circular migration route, moving north up the eastern seaboard of first South and then North America, before crossing the Atlantic in August.

Are prey availability close to the colony adequate for breeding shearwaters?

Similar to the WTS at the Great Barrier Reef, this suggests that prey availability close to the colony are inadequate for the large numbers of breeding shearwaters to maintain a critical body mass necessary for continued breeding (Congdon et al. 2005).

What is the purpose of breeding in seabirds?

Breeding is the central purpose for seabirds to visit land. The breeding period (courtship, copulation, and chick-rearing) is usually extremely protracted in many seabirds and may last over a year in some of the larger albatrosses; this is in stark contrast with passerine birds.

What seabirds have mating displays?

Boobies are another group of seabirds known for their mating displays. Brown ( Sula leucogaster ), red-footed ( S. sula) and blue-footed boobies ( S. nebouxii) have at least nine described parts to their mating display.

Should chicks be separated from the rest of the flock?

Depending on the flock’s temperament, it may be best to separate the chicks from the rest of your flock. Most free-range flocks get along great and show no aggression with the baby chicks.

Do Albatross forage strategies vary with site fidelity?

Site fidelity in albatrosses was higher when the previous trip was more profitable. Wild seabirds showed evidence of a win-staye–lose-shift (WSLS) foraging strategy.

What is the best book on foraging behavior of wagtails?

Cody, M.L. 1971. Finch flocks in the Mohave Desert. Theor. Pop. Biol. 2:142-158. Cowie, R.J. 1977. Optimal foraging in Great Tits, Parus major. Nature 268:137-139. Davies, N. B. 1977. Prey selection and social behaviour in wagtails (Aves: Motacillidae). Journal of Animal Ecology 46:37-57. Glander, K.E. 1981.

What are the courting behaviors of seabirds?

The sequence and variety of courting behaviors vary widely among species, but they typically begin with territorial defense, followed by mate-attraction displays, and selection of a nest site. Seabirds are long-lived, socially monogamous, birds that usually mate for life.

How far do chickens travel during incubation and rearing?

The WTS covered an average of 3,284 ± 901 km during incubation, and 436 ± 286 km when completing short foraging trips during chick rearing (Table 4). There was a four-fold increase in the duration and distance of the long foraging trips during chick rearing compared to the short trips (Table 4).

What percentage of kernel utilisation do foraging shearwaters use with satellite tags?

The 50% (green) and 95% (yellow) kernel utilisation distributions for all foraging trips undertaken by all 20 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters from the Muiron Islands deployed with satellite tags in November 2018. 27

Do seabirds mate for life?

Seabirds are long-lived, socially monogamous, birds that usually mate for life. This makes selecting a mate extremely important with lifelong implications for the reproductive success of both individuals in the pair. Wandering albatross male courting a female with sky-pointing, clucking, and wing-spreading rituals.

How many breeding seabird species are there in the UK?

Duncan Wherrett Of Britain and Ireland’s 25 breeding seabird species, six are on the UK Birds of Conservation Concern Red List and a further 18 are Amber-listed, while three and 19 are on the equivalent lists of Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland.