This is a Salvin's Albatross (Thalassarche salvini) that we saw in the first trip of the weekend. This species is part of the Shy Albatross group of birds. It can be separated from Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta) by its pale grey head with a white forehead, its white underwings and the pale or olive-grey bit with a dark tip.
In the field (or on the ocean in this case) the grey head was very noticeable and this was the feature that first alerted us to the birds presence as it flew past. Somewhat unusually (so I am told) the bird stayed around the boat for a while, rather than just doing a fly past.
This is a Southern Ocean species that breeds on some of New Zealand sub-antarctic islands.
In some of these picture you can see the bird interacting with a Shy Albatross.
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