--- "P.J. Milburn" <> wrote:
>
>
> 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.
>
> Hi Pete and other birding-aus subs
What is going on here???
While on a pelagic today (Saturday 16 October)we were
amazed to see yet another Antipodean / Amsterdam
Albatross type bird. This bird was, if anything, even
more distinctive in bill colouration than either of
the two birds reported to date. On this occasion, the
dark cutting edge was very obvious indeed, as was the
dark ungues (bill tip). This was greenish and was at
its darkest along the top ridge of the maxillary
unguis, where it graded to a brownish colour.
The bird was captured and a feather sample taken for
future DNA analysis. No measurements were taken,
unfortunately. In the hand, the dark cutting edge was
black in colouration and about three mm wide at its
thickest point, where the culminicorn (? I hope I've
got that right) meets the ungues). This was different
to the two birds captured on the previous Wollongong
and Sydney boats, where the dark edge appeared a sort
of dark bluish-green. (This was only visible when the
bird was in the hand and the bill held open, otherwise
it simply appeared dark). I will be interested to see
if photographs bear out my memory of this, and
especially if the cutting edge appears broken into a
comb-like pattern as Pete suggests.
What I am saying though is that this bird's bill
colouration and contrast was indeed more intense on
this bird. My point is that, if further research
reveals these birds not to be from Amsterdam Island,
but perhaps a little-known version of Antipodean
Albatross, then the field identification criteria for
Amsterdam Albatross is, um, bollocks actually. Indeed,
one possibility I haven't heard proponents of new
albatross taxa discuss is whether or not Amsterdam and
Antipodean Albatross are indeed the same species, or
subspecies of each other. Perhaps Pete or Lindsay
might be able to enlighten us on this point.
It does seem extraordinary that three of these birds
have turned up off Sydney/Wollongong in the space of a
a month with no previous accepted records. (Don't
forget there's only around 60-70 of the birds on the
planet.) Maybe we just weren't looking hard enough. I
am quite happy to accept, on CURRENT knowledge, that
all of these birds were in fact Amsterdam Albatross.
But with Albatross taxa still a hot topic for debate,
I wonder if the birds are well enough studied to be
comfortable in ticking it off.
Any further enlightenment welcome.
Cheers
Andrew Stafford
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