Not seabirds; at least 3 male Yellow Albatross (Appias paulina) butterflies were flying in the botanical gardens yesterday afternoon. I had good views of a couple from the footbridge over the rainforest gully, next to the cafe. They were zooming around above the treeferns, having aerial dogfights with some of the many Macleay’s Swallowtails present.
These are butterflies from warmer climes that occasionally irrupt or migrate southwards, I have only seen them in Canberra a couple of times before. The males look like very large Cabbage Whites, being about the size of the Macleay’s Swallowtails, and are mostly white above with a few black markings. The underside is large yellowish but this is hard to see in flight. Females are much more heavily marked.
Nice images here http://australianbutterfliesphotographed.com/ click family Pieridae, then Appias paulina
Worth looking out for if you are in the gardens
Steve
