Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Brooke, M. de L. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | A4bcde |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Vulnerable | A4bcde |
| 2016 | Vulnerable | A4bcde |
| 2015 | Vulnerable | A4bcde |
| 2012 | Vulnerable | A4bcde |
| 2010 | Near Threatened | A4b,c,d,e |
| 2008 | Near Threatened | A4b,c,d,e |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Not Recognised | |
| 1988 | Not Recognised |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 5,480,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | unknown | medium | estimated | 2011 |
| Population trend | decreasing | poor | estimated | 2008-2062 |
| Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 30-49% | - | - | - |
| Generation length | 18 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: Figures point to a total of 15,337-30,519 pairs, roughly equating to 46,000-92,000 individuals, based on a population assessment covering the species's entire range (Derhé 2012). However, this number is at odds with preliminary counts conducted in early February when c. 75,000-90,000 individuals have been recorded migrating through the Bosporus [J. Tavares and D. Sahin. in litt. 2012, D. Sahin in litt. 2015]), at a time when most breeders are already around their colonies in Malta, France, and Italy. More surveys are urgently needed to confirm breeding population sizes, particularly in the Aegean Sea and in Turkey.
Trend justification: Extremely low breeding success has been reported at several important colonies, particularly in Italy (Baccetti et al. 2009), as well as adult survival probabilities (across the western Mediterranean) that are currently too low to maintain stable populations (Oppel et al. 2011). There is evidence of both recent and historical colony extinctions, with eleven colonies having been reported extinct in the last 60 years (Bourgeois and Vidal 2008, N. Baccetti in litt. 2011, Cadiou 2015). The trends of populations in Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece,Turkey and Tunisia are currently unknown. Declines are suspected in Croatia (for at least one colony [I. Budinski in litt. 2011]) and Greece (based on long-term trends [J. Fric in litt. 2011]) however the Greek population was reported as stable according to the European Red List of Birds (BirdLife International 2015).
It has been reported that the species is declining in Italy by 10-50% over 13 years (N. Baccetti in litt. 2011), in France by 6% per year (Oppel et al. 2011) and in Malta by 0-15% over nine years (Borg and Sultana 2002, Raine et al. 2009, Sultana et al. 2011). In total, these three countries represent around three-quarters of the known global population. By combining data for these three countries it is predicted that, if the species continues to decline at the current reported rate, the global breeding population will decrease by more than 30% in the next 54 years, i.e. three generations (Derhé 2012). These declines are retained despite increases reported for Italy and Malta in the 2015 European Red List of Birds (BirdLife International 2015). The reported increases may be either dependent on the trend at one colony or may be a result of better knowledge rather than real increases. Consultation with experts in the relevant countries suggests that overall the negative trends should be retained for the current assessment. However should new information suggest that these populations are experiencing genuine increases the global trend direction should be amended.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Algeria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Austria | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | native | ||||
| Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Croatia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Cyprus | extant | native | yes | |||
| Egypt | extant | native | ||||
| France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Georgia | extant | native | ||||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Greece | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Israel | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Italy | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lebanon | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Libya | extant | native | ||||
| Malta | extant | native | yes | |||
| Monaco | extant | uncertain | ||||
| Montenegro | extant | uncertain | ||||
| Morocco | extant | native | ||||
| North Macedonia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Palestine | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Romania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Slovenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Syria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Tunisia | extant | native | ||||
| Türkiye | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ukraine | extant | native | yes | |||
| United Kingdom | extant | vagrant |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | major | breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Epipelagic (0-200m) | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Epipelagic (0-200m) | major | breeding |
| Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | suitable | breeding | |
| Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Whole (>90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 7 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
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| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Rapid Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| 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 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases - Calonectris diomedea | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
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| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Residential & commercial development | Tourism & recreation areas | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
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| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
| Fuels | subsistence, national |
| Fuels | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yelkouan-shearwater-puffinus-yelkouan on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.