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Flesh-footed Shearwater

Ardenna carneipes

Number Of Mature
Individuals (Regional)

Unknown

Regional
Population Trend

Decreasing

nt

2025
Regional Category

Near Threatened

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CONTENTS
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    Overview

    Names

    IOC English Name:

    Flesh-footed Shearwater

    SA & IOC Scientific Name:

    Ardenna carneipes

    BirdLife International Taxonomy (scientific name):

    Ardenna carneipes

    Order:

    PROCELLARIIFORMES

    Family:

    Procellariidae

    Species name author:

    Gould 1984

    Afrikaans:

    Bruinpylstormvoël

    Sesotho (South Africa):

    Sesotho (Lesotho):

    Siswati:

    isiZulu:

    isikamanzelinyawobomvana

    Current Assessment Status

    2025 Regional Category [Criteria]

    NT [Follows Global Status]

    2024 Global Category [Criteria]

    NT [A2bcde+3bcde+4bcde] (BirdLife International 2019)

    Population size (Regional)

    Unknown

    Population size (Global)

    148 000 (BirdLife International 2019)

    Distribution size (EOO) (Regional) km2

    Unknown

    Distribution size (EOO) (Global) km2

    198 000 000 (BirdLife International 2019)

    Distribution size (AOO) (Regional) km2

    Unknown

    Generation time

    18.3 (BirdLife International 2019)

    Status change reason

    Genuine Change in Status

    Migrant (in the region)

    Yes

    Regional endemic

    No

    Historic Listing Information

    2000 Regional Status

    Not Evaluated

    2015 Regional Status

    Not Evaluated

    Status change reason (if applicable)

    No change

    2015 Population size (Regional)

    Unknown

    2015 Global Status

    LC

    Reason for Inclusion

    Reason for Inclusion in the Assessment

    The species was not previously assessed. The Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes is a non-breeding migrant to South African territorial waters. Globally the species is assessed as Near Threatened and therefore included in the assessment.

    Category Justification

    Category Justification

    The Flesh-footed Shearwater is a non-breeding migrant to the South African territorial waters. It is unclear how important the region is as an over wintering area and as a precautionary approach the global status was adopted and the regional population assessed as Near Threatened.

    Population Justification

    The global population is estimated to be 74 000 breeding pairs (Lavers 2015). The regional population is unknown.

    Trend Justification

    The global population is suspected to have declined by 20–29% over three generations (BirdLife International 2019). As the species is a non-breeding migrant to the region it is highly probable that the regional population would display similar trends.

    Biology & Ecology

    Taxonomy

    The species is monotypic although sometimes considered conspecific with Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus (Carboneras et al. 2020).

    Identification

    40–45 cm, 600 g. The Flesh-footed Shearwater is a monomorphic large, broad-winged, entirely dark bird with a relatively robust pale bill. The upper parts are a blackish brown with slightly paler feather tips, whereas the underparts are dark brown, often slightly paler grey-brown on the belly. Legs and feet are a pale flesh coloured with a dark grey tipped creamy to pale horn coloured bill. The eyes are dark brown (Ryan 2005). The species may be confused with the dark morph Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica, Sooty Shearwater Ardenna grisea and White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctiallis. The latter species has a variable white chin, mostly black legs and feet and is a larger with a heavier bill and head. The Sooty Shearwater has smaller straighter wings, a slenderer grey bill and silvery underwing coverts. The Wedge-tailed Shearwater is overall slenderer, with a longer more pointed tail and a duller slender bill (Ryan 2005).

    Distribution

    The species breeds on islands off North Island and in the Cook Straight, St Paul Island, South and Southwest Australia and on Lord Howe Island (Carboneras et al. 2020). Non-breeding birds disperse over the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the region the species is fairly common and widespread off the east coast, becoming increasingly scarce towards the west (Ryan 1997).

    Ecology

    Marine and pelagic occurring mainly in waters over the continental shelf (Ryan 2005) but occasionally recorded inshore (Fraser and McMahon 1990). The species breeds on the islands off Australia and New Zealand and then disperse over the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans (Ryan 1997). Non-breeding in the region.

    The diet of the species is poorly known, but they have been recorded taking, squid and fish, which are probably the chief dietary constituents (Carboneras et al. 2020). Prey is taken by either surface dipping, contact dipping or surface plunging (Wood 1993), but pursuit diving up to depth of 8.7 m, have been recorded (Rayner et al. 2011).

    Threats & Conservation

    Threats

    Threats facing this species include urbanisation, plastic pollution (Priddel et al. 2006), bycatch of the fishing industry (Baker and Wise 2005, Tuck and Wilcox 2008) and predation by introduced rats, cats, and in the past, pigs (Brooke 2004, Priddel et al. 2006).

    Conservation Measures Underway

    In the region efforts to reduce seabird bycatch rates by the fishing industry would be beneficial to the species. Regionally the species is protected under the Sea Birds and Seal Protection Act (Act No 46 of 1973), the 2007 Policy on the Management of Seal, Seabirds and Shorebirds established under the Marine Living Resources Act (Act no. 18 of 1998).

    Conservation Measures Proposed

    • Monitoring the number of individuals caught by the fishing industry as bycatch.
    • Implementation of bycatch mitigation measures by the fishing industry.

    Research Priorities and Questions

    • Regular census to determine size of non-breeding population within South African territorial waters.
    • Determine if the fishing industry poses a threat to the species. Should this be the case, determine if current mitigation measures are effective and if not, how can they be improved.

    Contributors & References

    Assessor/s

    Kevin Shaw

    Reviewer/s

    Alan Lee

    References

    Baker GB, Wise BS. 2005. The impact of pelagic longline fishing on the flesh-footed shearwater Puffinus carneipes in Eastern Australia. Biological Conservation 126: 306–316.

    BirdLife International. 2019. Ardenna carneipes (amended version of 2018 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T22698188A155469189. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22698188A155469189.en. [Accessed on 24 February 2025].

    Brooke M. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels across the World. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Carboneras C, Jutglar F, Kirwan GM, Sharpe CJ. 2020. Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes). In: del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J, Christie DA, de Juana E (eds), Birds of the World version 1.0. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.flfshe.01

    Fraser M, McMahon L. 1990. Seabirds in False Bay. Promerops 194: 11–13.

    Lavers JL. 2015. Population status and threats to Flesh-footed Shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes) in South and Western Australia. ICES Journal of Marine Science 72: 316–327.

    Priddel D, Carlile N, Fullagar P, Hutton I, O’Neill L. 2006. Decline in the distribution and abundance of flesh-footed shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes) on Lord Howe Island, Australia. Biological Conservation 128: 412–424.

    Rayner MJ, Taylor GA, Thompson DR, Torres LG, Sagar PM, Shaffer SA. 2011. Migration and diving activity in three non-breeding flesh-footed shearwaters Puffinus carneipes. Journal of Avian Biology 42(3): 266–270.

    Ryan PG. 1997. Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes. In: Harrison JA, Allan DG, Underhill LG, Herremans M, Tree AJ, Parker V, Brown CJ (eds), The atlas of southern African birds. Vol1: Non-passerines. Johannesburg: Birdlife South Africa. pp 760.

    Ryan PG. 2005. Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes. In: Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ, Ryan PG (eds), Roberts – Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edn. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. pp 672–673.

    Tuck GN, Wilcox C. 2008. Assessing the potential impacts of fishing on the Lord Howe Island population of Flesh-footed Shearwaters. Australian Fisheries Management Authority and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart. pp 89.

    Wood KA. 1993. Feeding behaviour, offal preferences and tarsus shape of Puffinus shearwaters off central New South Wales. Notornis 40(2): 123–127.

    Citation

    Shaw K 2025. Flesh-footed Shearwater. In: Lee ATK, Rose S, Banda S, Bezeng SB, Maphalala MI, Maphisa DH, Smit-Robinson H (eds), The 2025 Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. Johannesburg, South Africa: BirdLife South Africa. Available at: https://www.birdlife.org.za/red-list/flesh-footed-shearwater/

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