Buller's shearwater

Seen offshore from October to May, most often from November to February, gliding low over the water or feeding with other seabirds over fish shoals.

Story

Rako breed in only one place in the world, the Poor Knights Islands off Tutukaka. Pigs had nearly wiped out the colony on Aorangi Island, but after they were removed in 1936 the birds came back in huge numbers, with an estimated 200,000 pairs by 1981. A recent survey of the whole island group found only about 79,000 active burrows. The islands are still predator-free, so the fall is thought to come from changes at sea.

Behaviour

Rako glide and bank low over the water on long, broad wings, flapping far less than the smaller pakahā. They feed in flocks over shoals of fish, snatching small fish and krill that bigger fish have driven to the surface.