Cape Verde Shearwater
A species of Large shearwaters Scientific name : Calonectris edwardsii Genus : Large shearwaters
Cape Verde Shearwater, A species of Large shearwaters
Botanical name: Calonectris edwardsii
Genus: Large shearwaters
Content
Description General Info
Description
The Cape Verde shearwater has a slim, dark bill, with head and upperparts darker than Cory's. The flight is more typically shearwater-like than Cory's, with stiffer and more rapid wing beats. The overall appearance, compared with Cory's, is of a smaller, slimmer and more angular bird. 
Size
41 - 81 cm
Life Expectancy
25 years
Feeding Habits
Cape Verde Shearwater predominantly consumes a variety of fish, such as mackerel and herring, as well as flying fish. It also includes cephalopods, crustaceans, and occasionally plant material, snail shells, small bivalves, and cuttlefish beaks in its diet, even scavenging offal from fishing boats.
Habitat
Cape Verde Shearwater predominantly inhabits marine and pelagic environments, favoring the open ocean far from mainland coasts. Their breeding grounds are typically on barren, remote offshore islands, where they nest on steep cliffs that can rise up to 1000 meters, as well as in caves and amidst boulder fields. Occasionally, cape Verde Shearwater may also be found breeding inland, situated on rocky slopes, potentially dozens of kilometers from the sea.
Dite type
Piscivorous
General Info
Distribution Area
The shearwaters breed only within the Cape Verde Islands. The largest colonies are on the islands of Brava, Branco and Raso, though the species also breeds in smaller numbers on other islands in the archipelago. Though their pelagic distribution and movements are not well known, they are regularly seen around the islands in the breeding season. After the breeding season they disperse and may sometimes be seen in the upwelling zone in Senegalese waters, where about 10% of the population has been recorded in October. There have been records from the South Atlantic as well as one from the eastern coast of North America.
Species Status
The total population was estimated in 1993 to number about 20,000 mature individuals (10,000 breeding pairs). Although the species is notionally protected, the chicks are harvested by fishermen for food, with an estimated 5000 birds taken from their nests on Branco and Raso each year. Numbers have declined because of over-harvesting of young birds and the species is considered to be near threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Albatrosses and Petrels Family
Shearwaters and petrels Genus
Large shearwaters Species
Cape Verde Shearwater 
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