Muttonbird

Muttonbird, mutton-bird or mutton bird refer to seabirds – particularly certain large shearwaters – whose young are collected for food and other uses before they fledge (see also Muttonbirding).

The species most frequently called "muttonbirds" are:

• Short-tailed Shearwater, nesting in south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Furneaux Group of islands in eastern Bass Strait.
• Sooty Shearwater, nesting mainly in New Zealand and islands in the South Atlantic Ocean
• Wedge-tailed Shearwater, nesting throughout the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans

There are several islands where "muttonbirds" breed and are harvested:

• Mutton Bird Island, Tasmania, Australia
  • South East Mutton Bird Islet
  • South West Mutton Bird Islet
• Broughton Island, NSW, Australia
• Titi/Muttonbird Islands, New Zealand

Other uses of the term are:

• The Mutton Birds, band from New Zealand
  • The Mutton Birds (album)

In local Maori dialect, the bird is known as the "tītī" (less commonly spelled "tiitii")