Mutton-bird-egging-chappell-island-1893-377736-medium

Muttonbirding is the seasonal harvesting of the chicks of

petrel Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes. Description Petrels are a monophyletic group of marine seabirds, sharing a characteristic of a nostril arrangement that results in the name "tubenoses". Petrels enco ...

s, especially

shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tube ...

species, for food, oil and feathers by recreational or commercial hunters. Such hunting of petrels and other seabirds has occurred in various locations since prehistoric times, and there is evidence that many island populations have become extinct as a result. More recently ‘muttonbirding’ usually refers to the regulated and sustainable harvesting of shearwaters in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Anderson, Atholl. (1998). Origins of Procellariidae Hunting in the Southwest Pacific. ''International Journal of Osteoarchaeology'' 6(4): 403–410. These include the

short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

, also known as the yolla or Australian muttonbird, in

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, as well as the

sooty shearwater The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori language, Māori name , and is harvested by Māori people for muttonbirding, muttonbird, l ...

, also known as the tītī or New Zealand muttonbird, on several small islands known as the

Muttonbird Islands Muttonbird or mutton bird may refer to species of petrel, especially shearwaters, whose young are harvested for food and other uses before they fledge in Australia and New Zealand. The English term "muttonbird" originally emerged among settlers on ...

, scattered around

Stewart Island Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a la ...

in the far south of New Zealand.

Australia

Licensed commercial harvesting of short-tailed shearwater chicks on the coast and islands of Tasmania began in 1903, although it had long been a traditional form of subsistence harvesting by

Aboriginal Tasmanians The Aboriginal Tasmanians (palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. At the time of European contact, Aboriginal Tasmanians were divided into a numb ...

and European settlers there. However, by the late 20th century the industry was declining due to falling demand for the product and reduced interest by younger Indigenous people in the main area of activity, the islands of the

Furneaux Group The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of ...

.Skira, I. (1996). "Aboriginal people and muttonbirding in Tasmania". In: M. Bomford & J. Caughley (eds),''Sustainable use of wildlife by Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders'', Bureau of Resource Sciences: Canberra.

New Zealand

The harvesting of sooty shearwater chicks on 36 islands, known as the Tītī or Muttonbird Islands, around Rakiura (Stewart Island), is managed entirely by Rakiura Māori, with about 250,000 being harvested each year. There is some evidence that this harvest has been occurring since at least the 17th century.Hawke, David; Newman, Jamie; Moller, Henrik; & Wixon, John. (2003). A possible early muttonbirder’s fire on Poutama, a Rakiura titi island, New Zealand. ''Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand'' 33(2): 497–507.

Muttonbirds

Muttonbird may refer to various

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s, particularly

s in the genus ''

Puffinus ''Puffinus'' is a genus of seabirds in the order Procellariiformes that contains about 20 small to medium-sized shearwaters. Two other shearwater genera are named: '' Calonectris'', which comprises three or four large shearwaters, and '' Ardenna ...

'', called

s, where the young birds are harvested for food and oil by being extracted by hand from the nesting burrows before they fledge. The English term "muttonbird" originally emerged among settlers on

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

as the strong taste and fattiness of these birds' meat was likened to mutton. Others have compared it to fish or seafood in flavour. Some species are: *

Short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

, a seabird that nests in south-eastern Australia, particularly in the

of islands in eastern

Sooty shearwater The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori language, Māori name , and is harvested by Māori people for muttonbirding, muttonbird, l ...

, a seabird that nests mainly in

and islands in the South

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Wedge-tailed shearwater The wedge-tailed shearwater (''Ardenna pacifica'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and ...

, found throughout the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

s *

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

, breeding in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

region, was harvested in historical times * Cape Verde shearwater, breeding in the

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean, has declined because of over-harvesting *

Grey-faced petrel The grey-faced petrel (''Pterodroma gouldi'') is a species of petrel endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name and (along with other species such as the sooty shearwater) as a muttonbird. ...

(''Pterodroma gouldi'') * Providence petrels, harvested to extinction on

in the early 19th century but still existing on

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

, were known as 'muttonbirds' or 'flying sheep'

References

External links

Keep the Titi Forever

* ttp://www.muttonbird.net.au/Recipes.html Muttonbird recipes
Muttonbirding in New Zealand

A Seaweed Pantry
– Tales from Te Papa Episode 100 – A short YouTube video about muttonbirding {{Hunting topics Game birds Bird mortality Poultry dishes Māori cuisine Society of New Zealand Māori society Hunting in New Zealand Fowling Seabirds

Australia

New Zealand

Muttonbirds

See also

References

Further reading

External links