Puffinus huttoni
The Hutton's Shearwater, *Puffinus huttoni*, is a medium-sized seabird, measuring approximately 36-38 cm in length with a wingspan of 75-80 cm and weighing 320-420 grams. It exhibits classic shearwater plumage: dark sooty-brown upperparts contrasted sharply with pure white underparts. Key field marks include a dark cap extending below the eye, a slender dark bill, and a distinctive underwing pattern featuring a dark leading edge and wingtip against a broad white central panel. Taxonomically, ...
This pelagic seabird breeds exclusively in high-altitude alpine scree slopes and tussock grasslands (1200-1800m) in New Zealand. Outside the breeding season, it is found over open ocean and coastal waters.
Its diet primarily consists of small fish (e.g., anchovies, sprats), krill, and squid, which it catches by pursuit-diving, shallow plunge-diving, and surface-seizing.
Hutton's Shearwaters are highly colonial breeders, forming dense aggregations in their mountain burrows, where they are strictly nocturnal to avoid predation from predatory gulls and skuas. During the breeding season, adults undertake remarkable daily commutes, flying up to 150 km between their h...
The Hutton's Shearwater is endemic to New Zealand, with its extremely restricted breeding range confined to just two extant colonies high in the Seaward Kaikoura Range on the South Island, at elevations between 1200 and 1800 meters. These colonies are nestled in alpine scree slopes and tussock gr...
Endangered
- Hutton's Shearwater is the only seabird in the world known to breed in an alpine environment, with colonies located high in New Zealand's Kaikoura Ranges. - Breeding adults commute up to 150 km from their mountain burrows to the sea daily to forage for food for their chicks. - Despite Māori hav...