Co-ordinated food provisioning in the Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis: a previously undescribed foraging strategy in the Procellariidae

Several studies of the Procellariidae have shown that adults feed the chick independently of one another (Ricklefs et al. 1985, Chaurand & Weimerskirch 1994, Hamer 1994). There are, however, few data on the provisioning strategies of individual adults. Chaurand and Weimerskirch (1994) found that adult Blue Petrels Halobaena caerulea alternate long trips (LT) and short trips (ST) to sea while rearing the chick. Here we describe a novel foraging and food provisioning strategy for the Procellariiformes whereby Little Shearwaters Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis also undertake both LT and ST, but pairs co-ordinate their feeding shifts rather than delivering food independently. We discuss our findings in relation to the predictability of the food supply, and compare them with other species breeding in different areas.