Balearic Shearwater

Balearic Shearwater :: Puffinus mauretanicus

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 085

On today’s show we learn about the Balearic Shearwater, a critically endangered migratory seabird who breeds on the Balearic Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, and who in the non-breeding season migrates to coastlines across Western Europe and North Africa. Its scientific name is Puffinus mauretanicus and it was first described in 1921.

For more information about conservation and protection of the Balearic Shearwater please see SEO Birdlife at https://seo.org/ .

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (26:58) Citations
• (29:08) Music
• (36:31) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from:

• Arcos, J.M. (compiler) 2011. International species action plan for the Balearic shearwater, Puffinus mauretanicus. SEO/BirdLife & BirdLife International. - https://acap.aq/advisory-committee/ac6/ac6-information-papers/155-ac6-inf-04-balearic-shearwater-action-plan/file
• Arcos, J. M., & Oro, D. (2002). Significance of fisheries discards for a threatened Mediterranean seabird, the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 239, 209–220. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps239209
• BirdLife International. 2018. Puffinus mauretanicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22728432A132658315. – https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22728432A132658315.en
• de la Cruz, A., Pereira, J. M., Arroyo, G. M., Ramos, J. A., Alonso, H., Arcos, J. M., Rodríguez, B., Bécares, J., Ramos, F., Tornero, J., Saavedra, C., Vázquez, J. A., García-Barón, I., Astarloa, A., Louzao, M., Laran, S., Dorémus, G., Waggitt, J., & Paiva, V. H. (2025). Global distribution, threats and population trends of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus. Biological Conservation, 305, Article 111047. – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111047
• eloisa matheu. Sound Recording. 2020. Xeno-Canto. XC580250. – www.xeno-canto.org/580250
• Guilford, T., Wynn, R., McMinn, M., Rodríguez, A., Fayet, A., Maurice, L., Jones, A., & Meier, R. (2012). Geolocators reveal migration and pre-breeding behaviour of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus. PLoS ONE, 7(3), e33753. – https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033753
• iNaturalist – Balearic Islands threatened species
• Kirwan, G. M., J. del Hoyo, N. Collar, and T. S. David (2021). Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. – https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.balshe1.01.1
• Lewin, P. J., Wynn, J., Arcos, J. M., Austin, R. E., Blagrove, J., Bond, S., Carrasco, G., Delord, K., Fisher-Reeves, L., García, D., Gillies, N., Guilford, T., Hawkins, I., Jaggers, P., Kirk, C., Louzao, M., Maurice, L., McMinn, M., Micol, T., Padget, O. (2024). Climate change drives migratory range shift via individual plasticity in shearwaters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(6), Article e2312438121. – https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312438121
• Meier, R. E., Votier, S. C., Wynn, R. B., Guilford, T., McMinn Grivé, M., Rodríguez, A., Newton, J., Maurice, L., Chouvelon, T., Dessier, A., & Trueman, C. N. (2017). Tracking, feather moult and stable isotopes reveal foraging behaviour of a critically endangered seabird during the non-breeding season. Diversity and Distributions, 23(2), 130–145. – https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12509
• Oro, D., Aguilar, J. S., Igual, J. M., & Louzao, M. (2004). Modelling demography and extinction risk in the endangered Balearic shearwater. Biological Conservation, 116(1), 93–102. – https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00180-0
• OSPAR Commission. (2022). Status assessment 2022 - Balearic shearwater. OSPAR Assessments. – https://oap.ospar.org/en/ospar-assessments/committee-assessments/biodiversity-committee/status-assesments/balearic-shearwater/
• Ramírez-Bal, M., García-Barón, I., García, D., Arcos, J. M., Ca