- Galápagos Shearwater
Taxobox
name = Galápagos Shearwater
image_width =
image_caption =
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Procellariiformes
familia =Procellariidae
genus = "Puffinus "
species = "P. subalaris "
binomial = "Puffinus subalaris"
binomial_authority = Ridgway, 1897The Galápagos Shearwater, "Puffinus subalaris" is a small
shearwater . Until recently it was considered to be a subspecies ofAudubon's Shearwater , but it is actually one of two members of a very ancient lineage of the small "Puffinus" species, the other being, as indicated bymtDNA cytochrome "b" sequence data, theChristmas Shearwater (Austin "et al.", 2004).It is an endemic breeder of the
Galápagos Islands , and is largely sedentary, although individuals are commonly seen as far as the Oaxacan coast ofMexico .Description
The Galápagos Shearwater has dark brown upperparts, undertail and underwing flight feathers, the rest of the underparts
plumage being white. It sometimes has a dark collar. Both sexes are alike, as are the young after fledging.It is a slender-bodied shearwater, about 29-31 cm long, with a wingspan of around 63 cm and weighs 123-225 g. The species closely resembles the
Tropical Shearwater , although the latter is typically blacker and has a longer tail.Behaviour
The Galápagos Shearwater is a gregarious species and will feed at sea with other shearwaters and boobies. It flies low over the water and feeds on
squid ,fish and offal. It intersperses 4-10 stiff wing beats with shallow glides.References
* Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent & Pasquet, Eric (2004): A global molecular phylogeny of the small "Puffinus" shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater complex. "Auk" 121(3): 847–864. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121 [0847:AGMPOT] 2.0.CO;2 [http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1642%2F0004-8038%282004%29121%5B0847%3AAGMPOT%5D2.0.CO%3B2 HTML abstract]
*Onley and Scofield, "Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World" (Helm 2007) ISBN 978-0-7136-4332-9
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
