Shearwaters take 'single sex' summer holidays Balearic
shearwaters take "female only" migrations to France over the
summer, say scientists. Migratory societies may be segregated,
with females also spending longer on migrations, a study found.
Europe's only critically endangered seabirds are frequent
visitors to UK waters, but there are only an estimated 3,200
breeding pairs. It is the first time scientists have succeeded
in tracking the year-round, at-sea movements of the birds. A
team of researchers from the University of Oxford, together with
the National Oceanography Centre, the British Geological Survey
and local experts in Mallorca, Spain carried out the study. Find
out more: - Balearic shearwaters are frequent visitors to UK
southern coastal waters - Accidental catching during fishing is
thought to be the species' greatest threat away from land - The
birds rest on the water and plunge-dive for food Balearic
shearwaters spend most of the year close to their breeding
colonies in caves along the coasts of