Ashy puffin

The ashy Puffin ( Calonectris diomedea ) is a Oiseau of sea gregarious, relatively large, of the family of the Procellariidae.

Description

Measurements

This puffin is relatively tall, indeed, it has a length from 45 to 55 cm. Its scale goes from 1,00 to 1,25 Mr. His weight varies from 700 to 800 G.

General aspect

There is no sexual Dimorphisme at this species, but the female is lighter and has a finer nozzle.

The aspect of youthful is very similar to that of the adults.

The ashy Puffin has the top of the body, the head and the throat dark, gray-brown. The extremity of the wings and the tail are darker, almost black. The nape of the neck can have a color grayer than brown. The belly and the lower part of the wings are white, even if the lower part of the wings presents a fine edge very dark gray, almost black. The limit between thebrown one of the head and the white of the lower part of the animal are indefinite (progressive passage), contrary to the major Puffin. The nozzle is yellow pale, but its extremity can be marked of gray or black. The eye black, is sometimes ringed of white. The legs, dew, are webbed.

Behavior

Social behavior

This gregarious bird generally saw of bands during the season of hivernation, on the open sea. At the time of the season of nesting, it constitutes colonies including/understanding of many individuals, several hundreds in general.

Flight

This bird alternates beaten flight and planed flight.

The flight is generally nonchalant, rather heavy and close to the waves. But in high wind conditions, the ashy Puffin shows its air control by carrying out spectacular increase followed by descents to peak. It slightly holds its wings out of bell and backwards, contrary to the major Puffin, which holds them stiff and right.

Migration

Between September and March, the ashy puffins leave their surfaces of nesting. The Mediterranean populations leave the Mediterranean and join the Atlantic populations. Certain individuals winter off the Eastern coasts of the North America or the South America. Others go down towards the south and thus reach the South Africa and the Indian Ocean. Erratic individuals were announced in New Zealand.

Food

Its mode primarily consists of fish, cephalopods, shellfish (shrimps), jellyfishes and other marine animals. It benefits sometimes from the fish scrap rejected by the fishing vessels, but less usually than other Procellaridae.

The ashy Puffin generally nourishes itself night. It often does not follow the benches of large fish which fold back the small fry towards surface, where the ashy Puffin does not have any more but to be useful. He prefers to take food on the surface, plunging just the nozzle in water in flight to capture his preys, but he can occasionally immerse himself completely during diving being able to reach from 4 to 5 m of depth.

Reproduction

This species niche in colonies. The adults arrive on the sites of nesting about March.

The nesting begins in May /juin. It takes place on small islands or rock coasts, on the level of coastal cliffs or fall, in a crack of the rock, a hole or a burrow with the side of steep slopes.

The nest consists of fragments of marine or terrestrial plants. The laying includes/understands one egg, white dull. The two parents ensure the incubation, which lasts on average 54 days.

After the blossoming, the nest is visited only night. At the end of 14 weeks, the small ones take their take-off. The ashy Puffins start to leave their surface of nesting in September, but the young people leave generally later, about October.

Vocalizations

Usually quiet at sea, this bird becomes noisy when it is in colony. It pushes raucous and sound plaintive cries then resembling tears of baby or lamentations (to hear its cry on this page or here for vocalizations in tears of baby).

Distribution and habitat

It is a marine bird which saw most of the year to the broad one. It niche in the zones moderated, on the islands or the rock coasts of the the Mediterranean and the Atlantic East . It winters in the Atlantic, off the coasts of the Europe of the West, the America S or the South Africa, but also to broad of the West Africa and the Indian Ocean. It is particularly frequent in the Mediterranean and off Africa of the North-West.

Population

The European population is estimated at between 270.000 to 290.000 couples by BirdLife International, that is to say undoubtedly more than 90% of the world population (these territories constitute 75% of its surface of nesting). The largest world colony is in the Îles Selvagens. The major part of the population niche in the Atlantic islands located between the the Azores and the the Canaries.

The world population is estimated at between 290.000 and 420.000 individuals by IUCN.

Statute and safeguarding

This bird is driven out (especially let us oisillons them) for its flesh or its grease, but its eggs can also be consumed. The human pressure is also felt on the level of the disturbances of the adults nicheurs, coastal tourism, the destruction of the surfaces of nesting, and the introduction of predatory species (cats, dogs, rats…).

The European population recorded a strong decline between the years 1970 and 1990. Even if the decline were less important between the years 1990 and 2000, it persists in Italy and Spain. So BirdLife International regards this species as " vulnérable" , just as the European Agency for the environment (AEE). It is protected by the Directive birds in appendix I since 1979 and by the Convention from Bern (protection of the wild life) in appendix II (strictly protected animal specie).

IUCN considers that this decline is insufficient to be alarming and classified this species in category LLC (minor concern).

Systematic

Many authors consider that this species has three subspecies:

Calonectris diomedea borealis : islands Berlengas (close to the Portugal) until the the Azores in the west and the the Canaries in the south,
Calonectris diomedea diomeda : on the Mediterranean islands
Calonectris diomedea edwarsii : on the islands of the Cape Verde

According to IUCN (in 2007), the species Calonectris diomedea sensu largo, in 1995, would have been divided into two distinct species:

C.diomedea which would preserve two subspecies (diomedea and borealis)
C.edwardsii (Puffin of Cape Verde)

According to Avibase (in 2007), the species Calonectris diomedea sensu largo would have been divided into three distinct species:

C.diomedea (ashy Puffin sensu stricto)
C.borealis (boreal Puffin)
C.edwardsii (Puffin of Cape Verde)

Etymology

Calonectris comes from the Greek kalos , beautiful and niktôr , plunger. The term diomedea refers to the legend of Diomède, which would have been killed by king Daunus and whose companions would have been transformed into bird. Moreover, the Tremiti islands, in Italy, were formerly called Diomedes islands, and acceuillent ashy Puffins.
Puffin would come from English to puff , to blow, and would refer to the capacity that have these birds to project by the nozzle an oily and nauseous substance. The ashy term refers to the color of its head.

Etymology

Several states emitted stamps with the effigy of this bird (see some examples on this page): Madeira in 1986 and 2007, the islands Maldives in 1986, Malta in 1987 and the Mauritius in 1985.

See too

Photographs and vidéos

on African Bird Club: C.diomedea on takeoff (the Azores)
Flickr Gallery on Avibase
of C.diomedea on Calphotos

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