ID Keys: Dark overall, short bill, very similar in appearance to Sooty Shearwater
The
Short-tailed Shearwater is a common breeding bird off the southeastern coast
of Australia, but they undergo a very long distance migration after the
breeding season. Some Short-tailed Shearwaters may be found as far
north as the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska during the Northern Hemisphere
summer. They are very similar in appearance to the
Sooty Shearwater. The American
Birding Association provides
this excellent reference
for distinguishing between the two species.
Habitat
Found on islands off the southeastern
Australian coast when breeding, as well as some parts of the mainland.
Breeds in areas where grass and other vegetative cover is present, but with
an underlying soil suitable for digging nest burrows. Outside of the
breeding season, disperses widely at sea, but is mostly found over the
continental shelf and in areas where upwelling currents are found.
Diet
Feeds mostly on fish, squid, and
crustaceans. Will also sometimes feed on other marine life.
Behavior
Forages by swimming on the ocean's
surface or flying low over the ocean's surface, and diving and swimming
underwater to capture prey.
Nesting
The Short-tailed Shearwater nests in
burrows, with a nesting chamber that is either barren, or sometimes lined
with a bit of vegetative material. The female lays a single egg, and
both parents help to incubate it. Upon hatching, both parents help
tend to the young, feeding the nestling at night by providing regurgitated
fish.
Song
Usually silent except on breeding sites,
where they will make piercing high-pitched calls.
Migration
Short-tailed Shearwaters breed on
islands off of southeastern Australia, as well as some locations on the
mainland. They are strongly migratory, dispersing northward along
the western Pacific in April and May, with some reaching as far north as
the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. They begin moving back south
again in August and September, although some non-breeding birds may be
present in the north Pacific at all times of the year.
