The sooty shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name tītī, and is harvested by Māori people for muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater and the Australian short-tailed shearwater.
Region
Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans
Typical Environment
Breeds on islands in the Southern Hemisphere, notably around New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, and southern Chile. Outside the breeding season it disperses across vast oceanic waters, especially the North Pacific from California to Alaska and across to Japan. It also occurs in the South Atlantic and circumpolar Southern Ocean, concentrating along productive upwelling fronts. Nesting is on vegetated slopes and coastal headlands with friable soil for burrowing, typically on predator-reduced islands.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 600 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Sooty shearwaters are powerful long-distance migrants that can travel over 60,000 km in a year, using dynamic soaring to cover vast oceanic distances with minimal effort. In New Zealand they are known as tītī and are traditionally harvested by Māori communities for muttonbird. They nest in dense burrow colonies on offshore islands and return to the same burrows each year. Their figure-eight migration tracks follow rich upwelling zones in the Pacific.
Up close, the chocolate-coloured plumage can be appreciated. Kaikōura, New Zealand.
A sooty shearwater off the shore of Westport, Washington, in the northeast Pacific.
A sooty shearwater in the North Sea off the Northumberland coast, in the northeast Atlantic.
Sooty shearwaters "walking on the water" of Monterey Bay
A small portion of a huge flock off the shore of California, United States in September
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
soaring glider
Social Behavior
Breeds in large, dense colonies, nesting in burrows dug into soil or peat. Mostly nocturnal at colonies to avoid predators; pairs are monogamous and show strong site fidelity. At sea they form large feeding flocks and often raft on the water near productive fronts.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
At sea it is generally quiet, but at night in colonies it gives eerie, wailing coos and chatter. Calls help mates and neighbors locate burrows in darkness and maintain pair bonds.
