Dear Aus-Birders
Tony Palliser wrote:
>One of the predominently brown-plumaged
>'antipodean wandering' type birds had a distinct dark-cutting edge to the
>bill visible at close range and looking very similar to the bird seen off
>Wollongong last week.
Various members of the Southern Oceans Seabird Study Group (SOSSA) and the
NSW Albatross Study Group have often stated that there is a possibility of
confusion between Dimoedea antipodensis and D. amsterdamensis including on
the last Wollongong Boat Trip. This includes the fact that some D.
antipodensis have dark markings along the tomia. These are less extensive
and less intense then in D. amsterdamensis and are often finely broken into
a comb-like pattern.
Tony asks
>Could this have been an Amsterdam Island bird?
Yes it could and good photographs may be able to resolve the issue.
Tony raises several more questions including
>How important are the measurements?
Measurements clearly provide a means to distinguish between theses 2
species. The SOSSA database of birds known to be D. antipodensis includes
no examples of individuals with measurements comparable to the individual
identified as D. amsterdamensis on the September 26, Wollongong boat trip.
Good Birding!
Milburn
Dr.Peter Milburn
Biomolecular Resource Facility
The Australian National University
GPO Box 334 Canberra ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA
Phone No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
Fax No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
E-mail Address
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