Fluttering Shearwaters may be seen on the boat trip to Tiri.

The head to below the eye, upperparts and thigh patch are dark greyish brown.  The underparts and flank patch are white and the white underwings have brownish borders and the armpits are dusky-grey.  A partial collar is faintly mottled and the bill is fine.  The main call at the colony is a rapid staccato ‘ka-how ka-how ka-how ka-how kehek kehek kehek kehek-errr’.

They feed mainly on small fish and krill.

Fluttering Shearwaters breed only in New Zealand in dense or scattered colonies on many off shore islands from Northland to the Marlborough Sounds.  Breeding is between September and February after they have returned to court and clean out their burrows.  The single white egg hatches in November and the chick fledges in late January or early February.

With the spread of introduced predators these birds survive best on islands without mammalian predators.

In autumn and early winter some birds, especially fledglings migrate to Australian waters.

References: Heather, B.D.; Robertson, H.A. 2000 The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, Viking.
Moon, G The Reed Field Guide to New Zealand Birds.