Buller's Albatross
Thalassarche bulleri
Breeds in New Zealand and ranges across the temperate South Pacific to the Humboldt Current; uncommon off Chile and Peru. All ages have thick black leading edge on the underwing, wider than the narrower black edge on larger Salvin’s and Chatham Albatrosses, and narrower than on stockier Gray-headed Albatross, a bird of cold subantarctic waters. Adult Buller’s has gray hood with silvery white crown and thick yellow edges on black bill. First-year birds have a paler gray hood, a pale bill with black “seam lines,” and black subterminal band; mostly like adult in 3 years. Compare with immature of larger Salvin’s Albatross.
Identification
Buller's albatross averages 79 cm (31 in). It has a silver-grey forehead, a grey head and throat. It has a black patch around the eyes with a white crescent behind and below the eye. Its back, upperwing, and tail are dark grey, and its rump and underparts are white. Its underwing is white with a black tip, with a broad sharply demarcated dark band at the leading edge. Its bill is large and black with yellow on the upper mandible, and the tip. The juvenile has a darker head and a brown bill.
Taxonomy
Mollymawks are a type of albatross that belong to the family Diomedeidae of the order Procellariiformes, along with shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages called naricorns that attach to the upper bill, although the nostrils on the albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into seven to nine horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the large amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a highly saline solution from their nose.<p>In 1998, C.J.R. Robertson and G. B. Nunn split this species into two, Thalassarche (bulleri) bulleri, and Thalassarche (bulleri) platei, although the majority of authorities including ITIS, James Clements, BirdLife International, and Michael Brooke have not yet accepted this split
- Scientific name
- Thalassarche bulleri
- Authority
- (Rothschild, 1893)
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Diomedeidae
- Genus
- Thalassarche
Range and habitat
Buller's albatross is endemic to New Zealand. They breed on Snares Islands, Solander Island, Chatham Islands (Big and Little Sister and Forty-fours Island), and Three Kings Islands (Rosemary Rock). Adults forage between 40°S and 50°S from Tasmania to the Chatham Rise. Juveniles and adults that aren't breeding disperse across the South Pacific with a number feeding every year in the Humboldt Current off Chile and Peru.
- Breeding range
- PO : islets of nw North I. (rare), Chatham Is. (e of South I.), w of Stewart I. and Snares (s of South I.; New Zealand)
- Non-breeding range
- to e Australian waters and w coast of South America
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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