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Bird Facts

Puffinus yelkouan on the wing - F Dhermain


Yelkouan Facts

Weight: 333 - 480 g (about the weight of a tin of beans)
Size: 34 – 39 cm from head to tail (a bit taller than a sheet of A4)
Wingspan: 78-90 cm (that’s almost a meter!)
Name: Yelkouan Shearwater which means “wind chaser”
Latin Name: Puffinus yelkouan
Habitat: Rocky cliffs during the breeding season, at sea during the rest of the year.
Social Life: A colonial nester. Yelkouans also form small groups at sea.
Food: Fish, squid, shrimps, possibly discards from trawlers.
Location: Endemic to the Mediterranean.
Status: Currently evaluated as “secure” but there are probably less than 30,000 breeding pairs and the species remains in decline. This is likely to change.

Tell me more about these birds

  • They live for a long time; so far, the oldest bird we have in Malta is 20 years old and going strong
  • Once chicks leave the nest, they get no more help from parents and learn to navigate the open seas and fish alone
  • They can drink seawater and expel the salt through a special gland on their beak
  • Both parents take turns to sit on the nest and can spend a week there without eating
The salt gland can be seen  John J Borg
The salt gland can be seen
John J Borg
Scientist rings Yelkouan Shearwater
Scientist rings Yelkouan Shearwater

 
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