A Shearwater in Oman

Perzische ? Pijlstormvogel

Puffinus persicus, P. bailloni, nicolae, ??

Measurements from fresh bird in mm (not accurate)

Local people with the fresh found bird

See comment of C. Roselaar

Dear Dr Bretagnolle,

Last week we received for our collection a small shearwater of the size of P. bailloni, found by  Mr Rudolf Kampf at As Salituiyat (N of Duqm), Oman, on 14 Nov 2000. Alas, Mr Kampf had collected the wings only (wing length 199 mm), but he supplied also measurements (tarsus 40 mm, mid-toe 42 mm, bill to gape 42 mm), as well as some photographs which are available also on his website.

It is a small petrel very similar to P. bailloni (or P. 'atrodorsalis') to me, with very white underparts (including under tail-coverts), not as  dark on the underwing and under tail as P. persicus. The problem now is, that when measuring the tail from the photographs in relation to the known length of the wing or tarsus I get a length of the tail of 93 to 96 mm, far longer than any known population of small shearwater from the Indian Ocean, except perhaps P. temptator (which appears to be more extensively dark below), though not unlike the tail of extralimital Caribbean P. lherminieri. Tail-lengths of P. bailloni (I measured tail as 73-79 mm in 12 birds in Tring, Paris,and Leiden), P. atrodorsalis (I measured 79 mm), and P persicus (69-74 mm) are clearly smaller. Have you any idea how we should label our wings, or do you think the bird is unidentifiable?

Yours sincerely

Kees Roselaar

According to the photos, and also to my files (birds measured alive or in Museums), it will be hard to identify definitely your shearwater. I may suggest that it is a nicolae (or, say, a bird from the Seychelles group). Seychelles birds are variable with regard to undertail covert (never as white as bailloni, of course, but they can be quite white). Moreover, one bird from Aldabra (in Tring I think) and one bird I measured on Seychelles were both with tails > 93 mm (although they represent <5% of birds measured). I believe you can rule out bailloni (tail, undertail), and temptator. For the others, I would not be so certain. History and my own experience with this group of petrels show that caution must be taken!!! One last thing, I am completing a very detailed analysis of lherminieri/assimilis taxonomy (based on genetics, with colleagues), that will show that the taxonomy of this group must be completely reshaped.

Best wishes
Vincent Bretagnolle

The reactions will be submitted for a short note in Dutch birding

Please send your reactions to Ruud Kampf, r@kampf.nl