Flesh-footed Shearwater

Toanui is a large chocolate-brown shearwater named for its pinkish flesh-coloured feet. The uniform dark body contrasts with a pale horn-coloured bill and pink feet; sooty shearwater has a black bill and silvery underwings.

New Zealand colonies occur mainly on islands off northern North Island, including the Hen and Chickens and Mercury groups, with birds ranging across the Tasman and Pacific. It takes fish and squid by surface-seizing and diving and often attends fishing vessels.

Flesh-footed shearwater is At Risk — Relict (NZ Threat Classification). Fisheries bycatch, plastic ingestion and introduced predators threaten colonies. Hauraki Gulf and Northland pelagic trips regularly find toanui in the breeding season.