LC
Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri



Taxonomy

Taxonomic note
Puffinus lherminieri (incorporating baroli), P. bannermani, P. persicus, P. subalaris and P. bailloni (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as P. lherminieri and baroli was subsumed under P. assimilis, following Brooke (2004), before which P. bannermani and P. persicus where split following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2018 Least Concern
2017 Least Concern
2016 Least Concern
2014 Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type Average mass -
Distribution

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) 41,200,000 medium
Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) 11,900,000 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population and trend
Value Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Number of mature individuals 30000-59000 medium estimated 2016
Population trend decreasing suspected -
Generation length (years) 22.3 - - -

Population justification: The nominate subspecies has been estimated to number 7,400-20,500 pairs (Mackin 2016), with subspecies boydi estimated at 5,000 pairs on the Cape Verde Islands, and subspecies baroli numbering 895-1,741 pairs on the Azores (BirdLife International 2015), c.1,642 pairs in the Madeira region (BirdLife International 2015) (most recent estimate of c.300 pairs in the Desertas Islands, 1,500-2,200 in the Savage Islands [reviewed by Brooke 2004]) and c.400 pairs and declining in the Canary Islands (Rodríguez et al. 2012, BirdLife International 2015). Overall, this implies that the total population size includes more than 30,000 mature individuals, up to potentially 58,570 mature individuals. The population size is therefore placed in the range 30,000-59,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to the impacts of introduced species. The European population size is estimated to be decreasing at a rate approaching 10% in 66.9 years (three generations) (BirdLife International 2015), and also the Caribbean population appears to have undergone declines, at least historically (Mackin 2016).


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding Non-breeding Passage
Anguilla (to UK) extant native
Antigua and Barbuda extant native
Bahamas extant native
Barbados extant native
Belize extant vagrant
Bermuda (to UK) extant vagrant yes
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) extant native
Brazil extant vagrant
British Indian Ocean Territory extant native yes
Canada extant vagrant
Cape Verde extant native
Cayman Islands (to UK) extant native
Colombia extant native
Costa Rica extant native yes
Cuba extant native
Curaçao (to Netherlands) extant native
Dominica extant native
Dominican Republic extant native
El Salvador extant native yes
Gambia extant uncertain
Grenada extant native
Guadeloupe (to France) extant vagrant yes
Guatemala extant native
Guinea extant uncertain
Guinea-Bissau extant uncertain
Guyana extant native
Haiti extant native
Honduras extant native
Jamaica extant native
Martinique (to France) extant native
Mauritania extant uncertain
Mexico extant native
Montserrat (to UK) extant native yes
Morocco extant native
Nicaragua extant native
Panama extant native
Portugal extant native yes
Puerto Rico (to USA) extant native
Senegal extant uncertain
Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) extant native
Spain extant native yes
St Barthelemy (to France) extant native
St Kitts and Nevis extant native
St Lucia extant native
St Martin (to France) extant native yes
St Vincent and the Grenadines extant native
Trinidad and Tobago extant native
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) extant native yes
United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA) extant native yes
USA extant native yes
Venezuela extant native
Virgin Islands (to UK) extant native yes
Virgin Islands (to USA) extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
Mauritania Canary current shelf-break (south)
Morocco Canary current shelf 2
Morocco Canary current shelf 3
Morocco Canary current shelf 1
Morocco Canary current shelf-break (north)
Cape Verde Ponta Costa
Cape Verde Cruzinha Natural Park
Cape Verde Ilhéus do Rombo
Cape Verde Coastal cliffs between Porto Mosquito and Baia do Inferno
Cape Verde Branco Islet Integral Natural Reserve
Cape Verde Raso Islet Integral Natural Reserve
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) Saba
Barbados Bird Rock
Bahamas Low Cay, High Cay and Sandy Hook
Bahamas Mira Por Vos
Bahamas Allan's Cays
Bahamas Cay Sal
Martinique (to France) Îlets et falaises de Sainte Anne
Bahamas Conception Island National Park
Bahamas North Atlantic Abaco Cays
Bahamas Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Trinidad and Tobago St Giles Islands
Trinidad and Tobago Little Tobago Island
Bahamas Graham's Harbour

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Marine Coastal/Supratidal Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands major breeding
Marine Neritic Macroalgal/Kelp major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Macroalgal/Kelp major breeding
Marine Neritic Pelagic major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Pelagic major breeding
Marine Neritic Seagrass (Submerged) major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Seagrass (Submerged) major breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel major breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs major breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Sandy major breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Sandy major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Sandy-Mud major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Subtidal Sandy-Mud major breeding
Marine Oceanic Epipelagic (0-200m) major non-breeding
Marine Oceanic Epipelagic (0-200m) major breeding
Marine Oceanic Mesopelagic (200-1000m) major non-breeding
Marine Oceanic Mesopelagic (200-1000m) major breeding
Altitude   Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Rattus rattus Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Reduced reproductive success
Pollution Excess energy - Light pollution Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

Utilisation
Purpose Primary form used Life stage used Source Scale Level Timing
Food - human - - non-trivial recent

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Puffinus lherminieri. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/audubons-shearwater-puffinus-lherminieri on 25/09/2023. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org on 25/09/2023.