The great shearwater (Ardenna gravis) is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially on rocky islands in the south Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic.

Taxonomy

The great shearwater was formally described in 1818 by the Irish naturalist Bernard O'Reilly and given the binomial name Procellaria gravis. The great shearwater is now placed in the genus Ardenna that was introduced in 1853 by Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name Ardenna was used to refer to a seabird by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1603. The specific epithet gravis is Latin meaning "heavy" or "weighty". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.]]

Food and feeding

The great shearwater feeds on fish and squid, which it catches from the surface or by plunge-diving. It occasionally feeds on crustaceans, fish entrails and other refuse discarded by fishing vessels. It readily follows fishing boats, where it indulges in noisy squabbles. This is a gregarious species, which can be seen in large numbers from ships or appropriate headlands. They have a piercing "eeyah" cry usually given when resting in groups on the water.

Great shearwaters are among the seabird species with the highest incidence of plastic ingestion.

References

Further reading

  • Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent & Pasquet, Eric (2004): A global molecular phylogeny of the small Puffinus shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater complex. Auk 121(3): 847–864. <small>DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0847:AGMPOT]2.0.CO;2</small> HTML abstract
  • Bull, John L.; Farrand, John Jr.; Rayfield, Susan & National Audubon Society (1977): The Audubon Society field guide to North American birds, Eastern Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. <small></small><!-- 1984 is reprint -->
  • Harrison, Peter (1987): Seabirds of the world : a photographic guide. Princeton University Press, Princeton. <small></small><!-- 1996 is reprint or 2nd edition -->
  • Greater shearwater photos
  • BTO BirdFacts - great shearwater