Balearic Shearwater

Puffinus mauretanicus

One of Europe's most endangered seabirds, breeding only on a few Mediterranean islets. Delivers messages from a vanishing list.

Population: ~19,000 mature individuals (2011 est., BirdLife/IUCN); official breeding figure ~3,142 pairs, though at-sea surveys suggest the true breeding population may be higher (~7,200 pairs); an older, now largely superseded Cornell/BOW figure cites 1,800-2,500 pairs. Decreasing, with population models projecting >90% decline over three generations absent intervention.
Habitat: Marine coastal and neritic (shelf) waters, favoring productive areas near oceanographic fronts; breeds in caves, burrows, and crevices on coastal cliffs and islets of the Balearic Islands
Fun fact: The Balearic Shearwater breeds only in Spain's Balearic Islands and is one of only two European bird species assessed as Critically Endangered, with population models projecting a mean extinction time of roughly 40 years without intervention against fisheries bycatch and introduced-predator losses.
Range: Breeds only in Spain's Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera); post-breeding migrates to the Atlantic coasts of SW Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, especially the Bay of Biscay for molting), reaching as far as southern England, Wales, occasionally Scotland/Scandinavia/the Baltic, and south along the NW African coast to Cape Verde/Senegal
Diet: Small schooling fish (e.g., sardines, anchovies), squid, and other marine invertebrates, caught by plunge-diving and surface-seizing; also takes fisheries discards
Size: 0.36 m
Wingspan: 0.84 m
Lifespan: 25 years

More Seabirds