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Manx shearwater
– Puffinus puffinus –

Manx shearwater belongs to the seabird family Procellariidae (shearwater). They are medium-sized birds, which spend their lives almost entirely at sea. As a pelagic species, it only comes to land to breed. It belongs to the order of tubenoses. Other families within the order of the tubenoses include albatrosses and storm petrels. Tubenoses were named after the two tubular nasal passages in the beak, through which can excrete salt. In former times, several species were considered to be only one subspecies of the Manx shearwater. Today there are eight species, which are autonomous.
Their beak is long and hooked, with sharp edges. Manx shearwaters like all other tubenoses are best adapted to long-distance flight, can cover huge distances and weather severe storms. This seabird can be seen in Madeira during the breeding season between March and October.

– General information –

Further names:
Atlantic puffin; German: Atlantiksturmtaucher; Schwarzschnabel-Sturmtaucher

Taxonomy:Class: Aves; Order: Procellariiformes; Familly: Procellariidae
Genus: Puffinus; Species: Puffinus puffinus, Brünnich 1764

Food: small fish (herrings, sprats, sand eels), crustaceans, cephalopods. They can detect food items at a distance of several tens of kilometres using their sense of smell to detect offal.

Range and Habitat: Atlantic ocean; breeding colonies at cliff lines (Great Britain: west coast of wales; island of Rum); the Azores; Madeira (also Selvagens Islands); Canary Islands; breton coasts; central european coasts (visitor). Males return to the colonies in which they were hatched, but up to half of females may move elsewhere.

Appearance: up to 30–38 cm; with a 76–89 cm wingspan and weighs 350–575 g. Typically “shearing” flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few wingbeats, the wingtips almost touching the water. Same as Albatross, birds have a gland near their tube-shaped nostrils and can secrete salt.

Living and breeding: these birds nest in colonies, mostly in rock caves and crevices in cliff faces. One clutch a year consisting of a single egg (May, June). These birds are monogamous and always attempt to pair up with their mate from the previous breeding season. They prefer the same nesting site as they used in the previous year.
The incubation period is 51 to 61 days. Chicks hatch complete with downy plumage, but grow relatively slowly afterwards. Juveniles stay in the nest for about two to nine months. At the beginning, one parent bird is constantly with the chick. When the chick reaches a certain size, both parent birds leave to search for food. When feeding, the parent bird grabs the beak of the chick at a right angle, regurgitates its prey, which the chick then eats. During the breeding season, the vocalisations of the parent birds can be easily heard within a short distance from the nesting sites. In flight, they give out a loud, wailing call. Only during night time adults return to feed their chicks.