Hi Nik,
John Graff mentioned that they are unlikely to get Wedgies off Albany, although
the photos show how closely abnormal white markings on brown birds can mimic
the appearance of other species.
The petrel you reference below is another classic example. It shows how easy an
abnormal bird can pull opinions in the wrong direction first up. However, such
abnormalities are relatively rare, and therefore I think it's only logical to
think of the most likely fit when given a set of plumage descriptions.
Regards,
Allan
On 01/02/2013, at 10:43 PM, Nikolas Haass wrote:
> Hi Allan,
>
> Good point. I was only thinking Procellaria.
> Besides you leucistic Wedge-tailed Shearwater also be other leucistic brown
> petrels/shearwaters should be taken into consideration. E.g. Dion
> Hobcroft's/Roger McGovern's Great-winged (Gray-faced) Petrel:
> http://www.eremaea.com/BirdlineSpeciesArchive.aspx?Birdline=2&From=20081005&To=20081005&MonthStart=1&MonthEnd=12&Species=120&Taxonomy=1
>
> Cheers,
>
> Nikolas
>
> ----------------
> Nikolas Haass
>
> Sydney, NSW
> From: Allan Richardson <>
> To: Mike Carter <>
> Cc: ; Birding-Aus <>
> Sent: Friday, February 1, 2013 6:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] poss/prob Spectacled Petrel off Albany, WA
>
> Hi Guys,
>
> we had a Wedge-tailed shearwater on one of our recent Port Stephens pelagics
> that had markings on the head that were a dead ringer for a spectacled petrel
> (Mick wasn't present on that trip).
>
> It duped a number of folk on board for a little while, so someone not
> familiar with the jizz of a wedgie could easily fall for it.
>
> I can send through a photo or two off line if anyone is interested.
>
> Regards,
>
> Allan Richardson
> Morisset NSW
>
> On 01/02/2013, at 2:15 PM, Mike Carter wrote:
>
> > I saw White-chinned Petrels with white around the face once off SW
> > Victoria. And there were four similar birds together. So if South African
> > type birds can occur in Victoria they surely can in WA. I couldn't find my
> > photos in my digital library so will take a long search of my slides to
> > find them unfortunately.
> >
> > Mike Carter
> > 30 Canadian Bay Road
> > Mount Eliza VIC 3930
> > Tel (03) 9787 7136
> >
> >
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