Buller's Shearwater

Rako is an endemic shearwater recognised by the bold dark M across its grey upperwings and back. The white underside, grey upperparts, dark cap and black M pattern are distinctive; the long narrow wings and tail give a graceful profile. Sooty shearwater is uniformly dark.

Almost the entire population breeds on the Poor Knights Islands, then migrates across the Pacific to waters off Japan and western North America. Rako feed on fish, squid and krill by surface-seizing and shallow diving, often gathering in large rafts or feeding flocks.

Buller’s shearwater is At Risk — Declining (NZ Threat Classification). Dependence on one island group, fisheries interactions and marine food changes are major concerns. Hauraki Gulf and waters off Northland are reliable in the breeding season, with particularly large numbers near the Poor Knights.