Fluttering Shearwater

Puffinus gavia (Forster, JR, 1844)

Fluttering Shearwater, Puffinus gavia, is a seabird of the family Procellariidae that breeds in New Zealand, on islets off the north-east of the North Island and in the Marlborough Sounds of the north-east South Island. Outside the breeding season it moves into eastern and south-eastern Australian waters. It is also known as Forster’s shearwater. Its usual haunts are open sea and rocky coasts, and it nests in burrows, crevices and holes on stony, scrub-covered slopes away from the water.

Order

Procellariiformes

Family

Procellariidae — Petrels, Shearwaters, Diving Petrels

Breeding range

Pacific Ocean: islets of ne North I. and Marlborough Sounds (ne South I.; New Zealand)

Nonbreeding range

to s, e Australian waters