Bird Guide

Buller's Albatross vs Shy Albatross

Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri)

Buller's Albatross

Thalassarche bulleri

Huge2.8 kgMarine

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: JJ Harrison · CC BY 3.0
Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta)

Shy Albatross

Thalassarche cauta

Huge3.9 kgMarine

The shy albatross averages 90 to 99 cm (35–39 in) in length, 220 to 256 cm (87–101 in) wingspan, and 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) in weight. Alongside its similarly sized sister species, the Salvin's albatross, this species is considered the largest of the mollymawks or the small albatrosses. It is a black, white and slate-grey bird with the characteristic black thumb mark at the base of the leading edge of the underwing. Adults have a white forehead and a crown, which is bordered on the bottom with a dark eyebrow and pale grey face. Its mantle, tail and upperwing are grey-black, and the rest is white.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Rodrigo J De Marco · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Buller's Albatross and Shy Albatross.