Scopoli's shearwater

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Scopoli's shearwater
Scopoli's Shearwater.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Calonectris
Species:
C. diomedea
Binomial name
Calonectris diomedea
(Scopoli, 1769)
Calonectris diomedea map.svg

Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) is a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It breeds on rocky islands and on steep coasts in the Mediterranean but outside the breeding season it forages in the Atlantic. It is brownish grey above with darker wings and mostly white below. The bill is pale yellow with a dark patch near the tip. The sexes are alike. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with Cory's shearwater.

Contents

Taxonomy

Egg Calonectris diomedea MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.41.6.jpg
Egg

Scopoli's shearwater was formally described in 1769 by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli. He placed it with the other petrels in the genus Procellaria and coined the binomial name Procellaria diomedea. Scopoli did not mention a type locality but this was designated in 1946 by the British Ornithologists' Union as the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic. [2] [3] Scopoli's shearwater is now placed in the genus Calonectris that was introduced in 1915 by the ornithologists Gregory Mathews and Tom Iredale. [4] [5] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek kalos meaning "good" or "noble" with the genus name Nectris that was used for shearwaters by the German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl in 1820. The name Nectris comes from the Ancient Greek nēktris meaning "swimmer". The specific epithet diomedea refers to Diomedes, a hero in Greek mythology. His wife was serially unfaithful while he fought at Troy, so he left to found a city in Italy. After his death, his distraught friends were turned into white seabirds. [6] [7] The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [5]

Scopoli's shearwater and Cory's shearwater were previously considered as conspecific. They formed the Cory's shearwater complex (Calonectris diomedea). Based on the lack of hybridization and differences in mitochondrial DNA, morphology and vocalization, the complex was split into two separate species. The English name "Cory's shearwater" was transferred to Calonectris borealis while what was previously the nominate subspecies became Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea). [5] [8]

Although most ornithological authorities treat Cory's shearwater and Scopoli's shearwater as separate species, [5] [9] [10] the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has chosen not to do so in their updates to The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World . [11]

Description

Scopoli's shearwater is 45–52 cm (18–20 in) in overall length with a wingspan of 112–122 cm (44–48 in). [12] The upperparts are brownish-grey with most feathers fringed with a lighter brown. The wings are a darker brown. The upper tail-coverts are tipped whitish and the tail is dark brown. The underparts are mostly white with a brown border which is most prominent of the trailing edge of the wing. The bill is pale yellow with a dark patch near the tip. The legs and feet are a pale flesh colour. [13] The sexes are similar in appearance but the male is on average slightly larger than the female. [14] [15]

The appearance is very similar to Cory's shearwater and the two species can be difficult to distinguish. The underside of the wing of Scopoli's shearwater has more white on the primary feathers at the wingtip, in particular the outermost large feather (P10). [15] [16] The Cape Verde shearwater is smaller and is significantly darker above. [13]

Distribution and habitat

Skull of a Scopoli's shearwater Calonectris diomedea 1zz.jpg
Skull of a Scopoli's shearwater

Scopoli's shearwater breeds on islands in the Mediterranean from the Chafarinas Islands off the Moroccan coast in the west to the Dodecanese near Turkey in the east. The largest colony is on the rocky island of Zembra, 13 km (8.1 mi) off the Tunisian coast. The colony contains between 141,000 and 223,000 breeding pairs which represents more than 75 percent of the global population. [17] Other large colonies are on the island of Linosa in the Strait of Sicily, [18] and on the Balearic Islands. [17]

At the end of October, after the breeding season, Scopoli's shearwaters migrate to the Atlantic and stream out of the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. [19] They return to the Mediterranean at the end of February. Studies using light level geolocators have found that birds tagged either on the island of Linosa or on the Pantaleu islet in the Balearic Islands wintered in regions associated with major upwellings in the south east Atlantic. The birds either foraged off the coast of West Africa in the upwelling associated with the Canary Current or continued further south and foraged in the Benguela Current off the coast of Namibia. [20] [21]

Food and feeding

Scopoli's shearwater mainly feeds on small fish, but it also consumes cephalopods and crustacean. It feeds by skimming over the surface or by surface feeding but only rarely plunges completely beneath the surface. Sometimes it will follows whales and tuna to pick up food scraps and to catch small fish driven to the surface. It will also scavenge discards from fishing vessels. [13] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Procellariiformes</span> Order of birds

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are often referred to collectively as the petrels, a term that has been applied to all members of the order, or more commonly all the families except the albatrosses. They are almost exclusively pelagic, and have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world's oceans, with the highest diversity being around New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabird</span> Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment

Seabirds are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-browed albatross</span> Large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae

The black-browed albatross, also known as the black-browed mollymawk, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shearwater</span> Seabird

Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Procellariidae</span> Family of seabirds which includes petrels, shearweters and prions

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes, which also includes the albatrosses and the storm petrels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory's shearwater</span> Species of bird

Cory's shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially of rocky islands in the eastern Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with Scopoli's shearwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Verde shearwater</span> Species of bird

The Cape Verde shearwater, or cagarra locally, is a medium-large shearwater, a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It is endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago of Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yelkouan shearwater</span> Species of bird

The yelkouan shearwater, Levantine shearwater or Mediterranean shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Manx shearwater.

<i>Calonectris</i> Genus of birds

Calonectris is a genus of seabirds. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek kalos, "good" and nectris, "swimmer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buller's albatross</span> Species of bird

Buller's albatross or Buller's mollymawk, is a small mollymawk in the albatross family.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barolo shearwater</span> Species of bird

The Barolo shearwater, also known as the North Atlantic little shearwater or Macaronesian shearwater, is a small shearwater which breeds in the Azores and Canaries of Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The English name and the specific baroli refers to Carlo Tencredi Falletti, marquis of Barolo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Alexander Zino</span> Portuguese-born British ornithologist (1916–2004)

Paul Alexander Zino was a British businessman and ornithologist after whom Zino's petrel is named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streaked shearwater</span> Species of bird

The streaked shearwater is a species of seabird. The adult bird averages 48 cm (19 in) in length, with a 122 cm (48 in) wingspan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavezzi archipelago</span> French islands in the Mediterranean Sea

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahiti petrel</span> Species of bird

The Tahiti petrel is a medium-sized, dark brown and white seabird found across the Pacific Ocean. The species comprises two subspecies: P. r. rostrata which breeds in the west-central Pacific Ocean, and P. r. trouessarti which breeds in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean. The Tahiti petrel belongs to the Procellariidae family and is the most studied member of the Pseudobulweria genus which comprises three critically endangered species. Similarly, the Tahiti petrel is considered near threatened by the 2018 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Threats include introduced rats, feral cats, pigs, dogs, nickel mining, and light pollution.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2018). "Calonectris diomedea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T45061132A132667885. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T45061132A132667885.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ British Ornithologists' Union (1946). "Seventeenth Report of the Committee on the Nomenclature and Records of the Occurrence of Rare Birds in the British Islands, and on certain necessary Changes in the Nomenclature of the B.O.U. List of British Birds". Ibis. 88 (4): 533–534 [534]. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1946.tb03508.x.
  3. ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 88.
  4. ↑ Mathews, Gregory M.; Iredale, Tom (1915). "On some petrels from the North-East Pacific Ocean". Ibis. 57 (3): 572–609 [590, 592]. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1915.tb08206.x.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Petrels, albatrosses". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  6. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  86, 267, 136. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. ↑ Kuhl, Heinrich (1820). Beiträge zur Zoologie und vergleichenden Anatomie (in German and Latin). Frankfurt am Main: Verlag der Hermannschen Buchhandlung. p. 148.
  8. ↑ Sangster, G.; Collinson, J.M.; Crochet, P.-A.; Knox, A.G.; Parkin, D.T.; Votier, S.C. (2012). "Taxonomic recommendations for Western Palearctic birds: eighth report". Ibis. 154 (4): 874–883. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2012.01273.x .
  9. ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; Remsen, J.V. Jr., eds. (2013). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Non-passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 179. ISBN   978-0-9568611-0-8.
  10. ↑ "Species Factsheet: Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea". BirdLife International. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "Clements Checklist". Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  12. ↑ Svensson, Lars; Mullarney, Killian; Zetterström, Dan (2009). Collins Bird Guide (2nd ed.). London: HarperCollins. p. 68. ISBN   978-0-00-726814-6.
  13. 1 2 3 Cramp, Stanley, ed. (1977). "Calonectris diomedea Cory's Shearwater". Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. I: Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 136–140. ISBN   978-0-19-857358-6.
  14. ↑ Gómez-Díaz, E.; González-Solís, J.; Peinado, M.A.; Page, R.D.M. (2006). "Phylogeography of the Calonectris shearwaters using molecular and morphometric data". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 41 (2): 322–332. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.006. PMID   16814569. See Supplementary Data for morphological measurements.
  15. 1 2 Flood, Robert; Gutiérrez, Ricard (2019). "The status of Cory's Shearwater in the western Mediterranean Sea". Dutch Birding. 41: 159–165.
  16. ↑ Flood, Robert L.; Gutiérrez, Ricard (2021). "Field separation of Cory's Calonectris borealis and Scopoli's C. diomedea Shearwaters by underwing pattern" (PDF). Marine Ornithology. 49 (2): 311–320.
  17. 1 2 Defos du Rau, P.; Bourgeois, K.; Thévenet, M.; Ruffino, L.; Dromzée, S.; Ouni, R.; Abiadh, A.; Estève, R.; Durand, J.-P.; Anselme, L.; Faggio, G.; Yahya, J.M.; Rguibi, H.; Renda, M.; Miladi, B.; Hamrouni, H.; Alilech, S.; Nefla, A.; Jaouadi, W.; Agrebi, S.; Renou, S. (2015). "Reassessment of the size of the Scopoli's Shearwater population at its main breeding site resulted in a tenfold increase: implications for the species conservation". Journal of Ornithology. 156 (4): 877–892. doi:10.1007/s10336-015-1187-4.
  18. ↑ Baccetti, N.; Capizzi, D.; Corbi, F.; Massa, B.; Nissardi, S.; Spano, G.; Sposimo, P. (2009). "Breeding shearwaters on Italian islands: population size, island selection and co-existence with their main alien predator, the black rat". Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia. 78: 83–99.
  19. ↑ Tellería, José Luis (1980). "Autumn migration of Cory's Shearwater through the Straits of Gibraltar". Bird Study. 27 (1): 21–26. doi: 10.1080/00063658009476652 .
  20. ↑ Müller, M.S.; Massa, B.; Phillips, R.A.; Dell’omo, G. (2014). "Individual consistency and sex differences in migration strategies of Scopoli's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea despite year differences". Current Zoology. 60 (5): 631–641. doi: 10.1093/czoolo/60.5.631 . hdl: 10447/102989 .
  21. ↑ De Felipe, F.; Reyes-González, J.M.; Militão, T.; Neves, V.C.; Bried, J.; Oro, D.; Ramos, R.; González-Solís, J. (2019). "Does sexual segregation occur during the nonbreeding period? A comparative analysis in spatial and feeding ecology of three Calonectris shearwaters". Ecology and Evolution. 9 (18): 10145–10162. doi: 10.1002/ece3.5501 . PMC   6787824 . PMID   31624542.
  22. ↑ Michel, L.; Cianchetti-Benedetti, M.; Catoni, C.; Dell’Omo, G. (2021). "How shearwaters prey. New insights in foraging behaviour and marine foraging associations using bird-borne video cameras". Marine Biology. 169 (1): 7. doi: 10.1007/s00227-021-03994-w .
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