Pink-footed Shearwater

Overview

The pink-footed shearwater (Ardenna creatopus) is a pelagic seabird belonging to the Hemipuffinus group, which may or may not include the great shearwater as an Atlantic relative. Classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species is closely related to the flesh-footed shearwater, with some molecular studies suggesting the two might be conspecific.

Identification

• 48 cm long with a 109 cm wingspan, featuring sooty-brown upperparts and white underparts.
• Bill is typically pale pink with a dark tip, and legs are pink.
• Plumage is rather dull with little colour variation, distinguishing it from similar species like the black-vented shearwater by its distinctly pink bill.
• Not particularly vocal, but may produce a horse-like whinny when feeding.

Habitat

This species breeds in burrows on the forested slopes of offshore islands off Chile, specifically the Juan Fernandez Archipelago and Isla Mocha. It is a transequatorial migrant that travels to the eastern Pacific Ocean for the non-breeding season, ranging from Northern and Southern Peru to North America between Southern California and Vancouver. During migration, it uses coastal and pelagic waters as stop-over sites, while exploiting continental shelf and slope habitats in the non-breeding period.

Diet

The pink-footed shearwater feeds mainly on fish, squid, and crustaceans, with a strong preference for feeding close to the mainland coast in high salinity waters with surface temperatures between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius. It makes long feeding trips of one to two weeks, often in areas with high abundance of anchovies and sardines.

Did you know?

On Isla Mocha, local communities have harvested chicks since the 1930s, a practice that remains a threat to the species despite being illegal, with conservation efforts now focusing on education to shift community identity towards protecting the bird.