Albatross question

[Paynterq]

Hi

I had a very enjoyable trip with Albatross Encounter last month. I understand the most frequent "wandering type" albatross seen at Kaikoura is the Gibson's form of Antipodean. I suspect that's what that attached photos are, although this one does seem quite pale and with an all white tail. I couldn't find a great deal of information about how to tell Gibsons from Exulans on the internet, so I'd be grateful to hear what the experts think!

Thanks!

Quentin

[AlanShaw]

Plumage looks classic adult exulans to me. Older adults do have all-white tails.

[MikeGC]

Excuse me butting in from the other side of the world...but
My experience with Albatross Encounters is that they're pretty clued up.
I'm guessing who ever was driving was busy and didn't take a proper look.
However, is it worth sending them your pictures ?
I'm not suggesting they're world leading experts but they'll be very familiar with their regular birds and these excellent images might just trigger something with them.

[sav]

Hi Quentin,

I don't claim to be an "expert", but I have seen many hundreds of wandering-type alberts over the years. To me (and no disrespect to Alan Shaw) this bird is a stone-cold Gibsons. To my eye there isn't anything in the plumage that is unusual - and it has a largish, but not giant, bill. The head is also rounded, not flat-crowned as an exulans should be.

MikeGC's comment is pertinant - what did Gary say?

cheers

[Paynterq]

Thanks for all your comments. It's been more than a couple of decades since I saw an exulans (on a Sydney pelagic, back when they were still regarded as subspecies) and I can't remember why it was identified as such by the experts on board other than I do remember it seemed bigger and paler than the other "wandering albatrosses" that were present, so I found it interesting/useful to read that head shape and bill length is a good indicator.

The only relevant bird book I've purchased since the split is the Lynx "All the birds of the world", which is a wonderful book (great lockdown purchase!), but its fair to say it isn't ideal for understanding the intricacies of albatross identification! I have sent a message to Albatross Encounter, so I'll let you know what they say. Given that only Gibson's was listed on the day, I'm fairly sure that they will stick with that (the bird was present for some time, so I think it is inconceivable that it could have been overlooked).

No matter what, it was an awesome bird - happy birding!

Cheers

Quentin

[RussCannings]

I would second Sav's comments that this looks like a fairly typical Gibson's (structurally). To confirm a nominate exulans (which of course overlaps slightly with gibsoni, particularly in plumage), you would mainly want an atrociously long/large bill (This bird to me has an average-type Gibson-like bill), and ideally a very old adult showing extensive white (more so than this). So in other words, I don't see any reason to go beyond the usual Gisbon's choice here.

(Also not an 'expert' though!)

[Paynterq]

Hi again

I don't have much to add. I did get a reply from Albatross Encounter saying "I have shown your photos to one of our guides, and the bird on the pictures is Wandering Gibson’s Albatross (Diomedea exulans gibsoni). It is not the Snowy Albatross (Diomedea exulans), as they are very white with just a little bit of black feathers at the end of wings."

Having studied a few more photos on the web, I can see that bill size is quite obviously more massive in exulans so I've learnt something and I think I'll be able to identify my albatrosses with more confidence in future!

All the best

Quentin

[Davidthomas]

Hi Quentin,

Another thing I’ve looked for when trying to find a Snowy/exulans wanderer is essentially looking for a Southern Royal sized bird without the black on the Bill. They have a bill that’s probably 1.5x the length of the head and have a much more beady eye with a shallower forehead angle.