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
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.
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