The fluttering shearwater is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and migrates to Australia and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are open seas and rocky shores. It has been known as Forster's shearwater in the past.
Region
Southwest Pacific
Typical Environment
Breeds on offshore islands around New Zealand, especially in the Marlborough Sounds and northern offshore island groups. Outside the breeding season it forages along the New Zealand shelf and crosses the Tasman Sea to southeastern Australia and Tasmania, with occasional records to New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands. At sea it favors coastal and shelf waters rather than the open ocean, often near upwellings and tidal fronts. Colonies are on steep or rocky islands where birds tunnel into soil or occupy rock crevices.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 300 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Fluttering shearwaters breed only in New Zealand but range widely at sea, regularly reaching Australia and occasionally the southwest Pacific. Their name comes from their rapid, low, fluttering flight close to the waves. They nest in burrows on predator-free islands and are mostly nocturnal at colonies to avoid predation.
Fluttering shearwater
Fluttering shearwaters waiting for the next fishing excursion near Ponui Island
Fluttering shearwater mount in Auckland Museum
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
rapid fluttering wingbeats with short glides just above the wave tops
Social Behavior
Highly colonial, nesting in dense burrow colonies on coastal islands. Typically monogamous with both adults incubating a single egg and sharing chick-rearing. They visit colonies at night, reducing gull and skua predation, and depart before dawn.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Mostly quiet at sea, but becomes vocal at night in colonies with cackling, moaning calls and duets between mates. Calls carry over the colony and help pairs locate burrows in darkness.
