Northern Buller’s Albatrosses on Rosemary Rock, photograph by Kevin Parker

Manuel Schweizer (Naturhistorisches Museum Bern, Switzerland) and colleagues have published  in the ornithological journal Notornis on the correct scientific name of the Northern Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche bulleri platei.

The holotype of Thalassarche bulleri platei at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (from the publication)

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Buller’s albatross Thalassarche bulleri is generally considered to comprise two subspecies: T. b. bulleri, which breeds on islands south of the South Island, New Zealand; and T. b. platei, which nests on the Three Kings Islands, off the northern tip of of the North Island, and on outlying islets of the Chatham Islands east of New Zealand.  Although the name platei has been widely applied to the latter population, some authors have suggested that its type specimen is in fact a juvenile T. b. bulleri. As a result, those birds breeding in the Chatham and Three Kings groups have sometimes been considered to represent an unnamed subspecies, or even species, given recent evidence of their genetic differentiation.

Because our own morphological examination of the specimen was inconclusive as to which population the type of platei belongs, we subjected the individual to molecular testing.  From this, we can confirm that the name platei has been correctly applied to the northern population of Buller’s albatross.

Reference:

Schweizer, M., Frahnert, S., Shepherd, L., Miskelly, C., Tennyson, A., Bretagnolle, V., Shirihai, H. & Kirwan G. 2024.  Genetic data confirm that Diomedea platei Reichenow, 1898, is the correct name for the population of Buller’s albatross Thalassarche bulleri breeding at the Chatham Islands, New Zealand.  Notornis 71: 165-175.

Leucistic Laysan Albatross chick on Midway Atoll, April 2025

A leucistic Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis chick was recently photographed on Midway Atoll.   Author and photographer Joe Owen writes:

“While most albatross chicks are typically grey and black, leucism gives this one its striking, lighter plumage.  This genetic condition reduces pigment, resulting in the pale feathers that make this chick truly unique.  It is possible to tell the difference between leucistic and albinism; in this case, by the normal coloration T melof the chick's eye.”

The leucistic chick next to a normally-coloured one, photographs by USFWS volunteer Joe Owen/Courtesy Friends of Midway Atoll

Read about a leucistic Grey-Headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma chick here, and a definition of leucism.  Leucism has also been recorded in a Black-browed Albatross T. melanophris at sea in the South Atlantic.

Leucistic Grey-headed Albatross chick on Marion Island, March 2018, photographs by Chris Jones, from Risi et al. (2019)

Leucistic Black-browed Albatross in the South Atlantic, photograph by Sandro de Mello Terroso, from Mancini et al. (2010).

References:

Mancini, P.L., Jiménez, S., Neves, T. & Bugoni, L. 2010.  Records of leucism in albatrosses and petrels (Procellariiformes) in the South Atlantic Ocean.  Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 18: 245-248.

Risi, M.M., Jones, C.W., Schoombie, S. & Ryan, P.G. 2019.  Plumage and bill abnormalities in albatross chicks on Marion Island.  Polar Biology 42  1615–1620,.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 09 May 2025

Graphical abstract, from the publication

Plastic ingestion by procellariiform seabirds has been regularly featured in ACAP Latest News, and was ACAP’s theme for World Albatross Day in 2023.  In a recently published open-access paper Sterre de Bruin (Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, the Netherlands) and colleagues discuss plastic ingestion by the Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in the Marine Pollution Bulletin.  The authors show that 89% of fulmars in the Newfoundland Banks had ingested plastic items.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Incidental studies of plastic ingestion by the northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) over a wide geographical range can improve our understanding of the distribution of marine litter in the global oceans and of the processes involved. A sample of 37 stomachs from northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) collected in June 2021 near Flemish Cap at the eastern end of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland was analysed for the presence of plastic litter. Overall, 89 % of the birds contained plastic, with on average 6.6 particles, and a mass of 0.093 g per bird. No statistical differences were found in the quantity of plastic between males and females. A proportion of 27 % of all birds contained >0.1 g plastic, exceeding the Fulmar Threshold Value (FTV%) and international target of <10 %. Within an existing model that linked plastic abundance to latitude, the Newfoundland sample represented a clear outlier with a considerably lower FTV% compared to what would be expected. Flemish Cap is situated at the border between the southern tip of the cold and relatively clean Labrador Current coming from the north, and the warm and more polluted waters of the Gulf Stream further south. A logistic model using average annual sea surface temperatures representing North Atlantic current systems was applied and demonstrated a highly significant correlation, with the Newfoundland FTV% fitting much closer to the modelled prediction. This new model improves the understanding of geographical patterns in plastic uptake by fulmars."

Reference:

de Bruin, S., van Franeker, J.A., Meijboom, A., Jensen, J.-K., Jacobsen, B. & Kühn, S. 2025.  Plastics in stomachs of northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) collected at Flemish Cap, Grand Banks of Newfoundland.  Marine Pollution Bulletin 215, 117894.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 08 May 2025

Newell’s Shearwater, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, photograph by Lindsay Young

Chris Gaskin (Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust) and colleagues have authored a seabird survey and monitoring manual for the Pacific region that has been published by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.  The manual covers a suite of seabird species, including albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, that breed and occur within the Pacific Ocean,

The report’s abbreviated Executive Summary follows:

“The Pacific islands region served by the Secretariat of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) covers 32 million km² within the largest continuous marine habitat on the planet, the Pacific Ocean. Oceania is the collective name for the islands and island nations scattered across this region. The goal of this manual is to encourage and support seabird conservation and research across the region, particularly in areas where this work is just starting out.  We consider all of the proven methods and survey types that are currently in use across the region, to provide readers with the tools required to run successful seabird survey and monitoring programmes.  To further illustrate how successful projects can be undertaken, real world case studies are presented – written by experts currently working in the field.  By utilising the in-depth knowledge, experience and expertise of people who have worked successfully on a species, group of species or an ecosystem, readers can transfer these tried and tested methods to projects starting out elsewhere in Oceania.

For ease of use, the manual is presented in five distinct parts:

Part 1: OCEANIA SEABIRDS

Part 2: SURVEY TOOLS & TYPES

Part 3: MONITORING

Part 4: MANAGING DATA TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION

Part 5: RESOURCES”

Reference:

Gaskin, C.P., Lukies, K.A., Whitehead, E.A. & Raine, A.F. (Eds) 2025.  Pacific Seabird Survey & Part 5: RESOURCESManual: Tools to Support Seabird Conservation across Ecosystems in Oceania.  Apia, Samoa:  Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.  172 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 07 May 2025