Grey-Headed Albatross Keep Your Eyes Peeled!

GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS

1 grey-headed Albatross de: Graukopfalbatros VulnERABlE Esp: Albatros Cabeza Gris Rare Once you pass Cape Horn, start looking for this attractive albatross, which is a speciality of the Drake Frequent Passage . It is best identified by its grey head and largely length: 70–85 cm black bill that, in adults, is flanked with yellow lines . Wingspan: 220 cm Slightly smaller than Black- Grey-headed Albatross is only likely to be seen in the open browed Albatross ocean, but often appears quite soon after Cape Horn (with birds emanating from breeding colonies at Diego Ramírez and Illdefonso). It behaves in a similar manner to Black- TAlKing PoinT browed Albatross (page 116), but is less interested in ships and Birds breeding on South Georgia have been generally keeps its distance. In jizz and flight style very similar recorded making full to Black-browed Albatross, but looks slightly more compressed, circumnavigations of the thicker-necked and perhaps slightly narrower winged at the globe, the fastest in just ‘hand’. To distinguish from Black-browed Albatross, it is 46 days . Recent rapid declines are thought due best to focus on the head and bill. At all ages, Grey-headed to longline fishing: in the Albatross has a grey hood. This is dark and clean-cut on adults, Indian Ocean in 1997–98, but may be rather washed out in juveniles and particularly Grey-headed Albatross on paler-faced immatures (but should still be duskier and formed the majority of the 10,000–20,000 albatrosses more complete than even the most strongly marked juvenile killed as a result of illegal or Black-browed Albatross). At long range, the bill usually looks unregulated fisheries . uniformly dark and is thus markedly different from the pale (orange-yellow) bill of adult Black-browed Albatross. At close range, adult Grey-headed Albatross has a distinctive bill pattern, with a black central bill plate (‘latericorn’) flanked by yellow upper and lower plates (‘culminicorn’ and ‘ramicorn’, respectively). Juvenile and immature Grey-headed Albatross show a uniformly dark grey bill (a slightly darker tip being discernable only at close range), unlike the two-tone bill of young Black-browed Albatross. For differences between Grey-headed Albatross and other ‘mollymawks’, see page 120. WHERE TO LOOK: At sea in the Drake Passage, where you can expect to see a few on each crossing.

Keep your eyes peeled! A handful of other ‘mollymawk’ albatrosses have been claimed occasionally in the Drake Passage . The taxonomy of the mollymawks is greatly disputed, though the various forms are now generally treated as full species . However, they are very rare in the region and unlikely to be seen on a typical Antarctic cruise . For this reason, outline pointers only, covering the status and identification of these forms are given in this book (see page 120) . The best features to focus on are head and bill pattern/colour and the relative proportions of black and white on the underwing . Count yourself extremely lucky if you see any of these species, and tell BirdLife International’s Seabird Programme if you do!

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