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Another challenge via Brent's lens.
Answers for this challenge are due by replying to this topic by midnight (NZDT) on Sunday 14 November 2010.

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Answers will not be visible to anyone else until after the closing date.

The winner of the 2010-2011 ID Quiz will get one free place on a scheduled Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ pelagic trip, AND each person who enters this challenge goes into the draw to win a pair of Nikon Travelite V 8x25CF binoculars just for having a go, thanks to Photo & Video International!

Buller's Albatross

Going to go with Salvin's Albatross, possible photo Brent took down in Kaikoura

Salvin's Albatross/Mollymawk.

Mollymawk with grey head and neck, yellow tip and top of beak; appears to have white cap just peaking over the top of the wing. I'd go with Buller's.
Michael Turner

Greetings from Malawi, courtesy of a R-E-A-L-L-Y S-L-O-W Internet connection (I'm worried the competition will close before this message gets posted):

Salvin's Mollymawk

tricky tricky,
bullers or salvins? I choose...

salvins albatross

Bullers Mollymawk

well its an albatross, and obviously a Thalassarche rather than Diomedea. It has a thin black edge to the underwings which rules out the black-broweds and grey-headed. The head is pale grey with a white crown which I guess means either Salvin's or southern Buller's. I think Salvin's has less white on the underwing than the southern Buller's (?), and although the bill is mostly hidden it does look more like that of a Salvin's, so....

answer: Salvin's mollymawk (Thalassarche salvini)

Salvin's albatross.
Cheers,
Tony.