Streaked shearwater facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Streaked shearwater |
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The streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) is a species of seabird. The adult bird averages 48 cm (19 in) in length, with a 122 cm (48 in) wingspan.
Description
The streaked shearwater feeds mainly on fish and squid. It follows fishing boats, attracted to anchovy crawls off Japan and has been known to be taken as by-catch in nets or drowned when ingesting the bait on long-line fishing lines.
The streaked shearwater nests in burrows. It prefers forested hills.
This bird is abundant and widespread; however, some mortality occurs through becoming entangled in fishing nets, and from some predation by cats and rats. In addition, it is harvested by some traditional endemic human cultures.
Distribution
This species is pelagic, but is also found in inshore waters. It occurs in the Pacific Ocean, nesting in Japan and the Korean Peninsula, predominantly on their offshore islands. After breeding, the streaked shearwater migrate south, feeding in the seas off northern New Guinea, the Arafura Sea, and the South China Sea. Calonectris leucomelas have also been reported well off the west coast of the United States, from the southern coast of India, and from New Zealand. There is also a record of a specimen collected in Wyoming.
