Tropical Shearwater
Puffinus bailloni
Small shearwater of the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans, where it breeds on barren and rocky atolls and islets, venturing offshore to feed. Dark blackish brown above and white below; this combination of pattern and size distinctive within range. Similar to Sargasso Shearwater of the Atlantic, which has more extensive white on the face, and somewhat similar to larger Manx Shearwater and smaller Little Shearwater, but Tropical has mottled dark undertail coverts (white in Manx and Little).
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Puffinus bailloni
- Authority
- Bonaparte, 1857
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Procellariidae
- Genus
- Puffinus
Range and habitat
The tropical shearwater is found in the tropical parts of the western Indian Ocean from East Africa to southern India and in similar regions of the Pacific from just to the southeast of Japan to French Polynesia.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Madagascar Munia
Lepidopygia nana
Tiny brown bird with a black bib. Juveniles are plain brown, but are usually seen with adults. Madagascar endemic that is found in all open habitats, including grassland, savannah, scrub, gardens, villages, marsh, and openings in the forest. Almost always in flocks that are usually small, but which sometimes contain dozens of birds. Call is a quiet “te-teuwt,” given frequently in flight, often by a chorus of birds in a flock. Even smaller than Madagascar Cisticola, with a black bib, no streaking, and a thicker bill.
Yellow-throated Apalis
Apalis flavigularis
A slender, long-tailed mid-story and canopy warbler-like bird with olive green upperparts extending to the flanks, a grayish face (sometimes extending to the forehead) with a striking pale lemon eye, and a bright yellow throat and breast bisected by a thin black bar. Pairs are resident in forest, forest edge, and plantations, where they may join mixed-species flocks. Song, often in duet, a strident repeated two syllable “ti-leep” from the male and a higher-pitched ‘ti-ti-ti….” from the female.
Lesser Rhea
Rhea pennata
This flightless South American relative of the ostriches stands about 5 feet tall with a body about the size of a sheep; no similar species in its range. Rheas roam widely on open Patagonian steppe and also occur locally in open habitats of the Andes, mainly at very high elevations. Can be confiding where used to people, but in other areas wary, running strongly and quickly. Rheas occur singly or in groups, and males take care of the young. Adults have bold pale spots on the body, first-year birds are plainer overall.
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