Mobile Menu Open Mobile Menu Close

The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans): results of banding and observations in New South Wales coastal waters and the Tasman Sea

  • Publication Type

    Journal Article

  • Publication Year

    1967

  • Author(s)

    J.D. Gibson

  • Journal Name

    Notornis

  • Volume, Issue

    14, 2

  • Pagination

    47-57

  • Article Type

    Paper

  • DOI

    https://doi.org/10.63172/284859pyntti

Keywords

No Keywords associated with this content


The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans): results of banding and observations in New South Wales coastal waters and the Tasman Sea

Notornis, 14 (2), 47-57

J.D. Gibson (1967)

Article Type: Paper

Attachment


Download

The albatrosses occurring in Australian seas are briefly enumerated noting the predominance of different species in different regions. The development of an effective method of catching wandering albatrosses at sea is mentioned, by means of which over 1700 have been banded (up to 1966). Data on weights and measurements are given. Most of the 61 recoveries of exulans have come from South Georgia, a distance of over 7000 miles, where British and American biologists have been active for several seasons. Reciprocal recoveries have also been recorded of birds banded at South Georgia. Other returns have proved that individuals from Kerguelen, Marion and Auckland Islands are present off New South Wales in winter. The high rate of retraps at the place of banding indicates a facility for precise navigation and suggests an ordered migration pattern to remembered feeding areas between breeding seasons. Tasman transects are examined and related to hydrological factors. A field method for recording plumage patterns is described and the sequence of plumage change, based on individual retraps, is discussed.