Light-mantled Albatross
Phoebetria palpebrata
The light-mantled albatross is largely sooty-brown or blackish, darker on the head, with paler upperparts from the nape to the upper tail-coverts which are grey to light grey, the palest on the mantle and back. The plumage has been described as being similar in appearance to the colouring of a Siamese cat. The eyes are partly encircled with thin post-orbital crescents of very short grey feathers. The bill is black with a blue sulcus and a greyish-yellow line along the lower mandible, and is about 105 mm (4.1 in).
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sooty Albatross
Phoebetria fusca
The sooty albatross is a medium-sized albatross, measuring about 85 cm (33 in) from head to tail, with a 2 m (6.6 ft) wingspan. Average adult body mass is about 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs), with males weighing more than females. Plumage ranges from a sooty-brown to a sooty-black color depending on the individual, but the head and sometimes tail are typically darker than the rest of the body. Around almost the entire eye, excluding the inner corner, a white ring is present. On the lower jaw, a yellow to orange line is present on the beak, which is otherwise a uniform glossy black.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Light-mantled Albatross and Sooty Albatross.