Townsend's shearwater Townsend's shearwater The Townsend's shearwater, "Puffinus auricularis", is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae. Its relationships are unresolved. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian shearwater ("Puffinus newelli") and possibly the Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus") (Austin, 1996; Austin "et al.", 2004). It formerly contained the former as a subspecies and was long considered a subspecies of the latter. The relationship of the Rapa shearwater, "P. myrtae" in regard to these species are also in need of research; this taxon was until recently placed in "P. assimilis" (Austin "et al.", 2004), but now raised
Muttonbirding on 36 islands, known as the Titi or Muttonbird Islands, around Rakiura (Stewart Island), is managed entirely by Rakiura Māori. There is some evidence that this harvest has been occurring since at least the 17th century. Muttonbird may refer to various seabirds, particularly petrels in the genus "Puffinus", called shearwaters, where the young birds are harvested for food and oil by being extracted by hand from the nesting burrows before they fledge. Some species are: Muttonbirding Muttonbirding is the seasonal harvesting of the chicks of petrels, especially shearwater species, for food, oil and feathers by recreational or commercial hunters. Such