About
Bryan’s Shearwater is the smallest of all Puffinus shearwaters.
This species is part of the Procellariidae family, which includes shearwaters, albatrosses and petrels, and this bird family diverged from all other family of birds 59.5 million years ago, during the Paleogene period. Very little is known about this species habitat and ecology and their at-sea distribution is relatively unknown. Its apparent rarity would suggest that the population is extremely small. Introduced black rats have been identified as predators of this species. The Ministry of Environment of Higashijima, Japan, responded to the mass depredation of birds by initiating a rat eradication programme, which has apparently been successful, with no rats being observed since 2010. This would allow the islands to become suitable breeding locations for the species. There are also ongoing eradication programmes for each island in the Ogawasara Islands in Japan. Higashijima is now protected by the Forestry Agency and access to the island is restricted.
- Order: Procellariiformes
- Family: Procellariidae
- Population: 50-249
- Trend: decreasing
- Size: 25cm
EDGE Score
Distribution
The species is only found on Midway Island, USA and in the Bonin Islands, Japan.
Habitat and Ecology
This species breeds during the northern winter. Specimens were found in a mosaic of scrub forest and grassland, consisting of screw pine and Bonin silver grass. The nest site was a burrow in grassland. This species has only been found on small islands.