[obol] Re: A day on the beach -- an albatross question?
- From: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
- To: Mike Patterson <celata@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, OBOL Oregon Birders Online <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 02:41:04 +0000
Hi Mike,
We were going to have pink salmon for dinner, but after seeing your photos of
all the funky pink stuff on the beach we are not so sure.
On a different topic -- As I looked through your recent postings, I came across
your blog piece about the "Laysan Albatross" that you got to touch. While
looking at the images, I realized that something (actually several somethings)
didn't look right. The albatross has almost no white on the rump or base of the
tail. Should have lots in any plumage of a pure Laysan. Also, the face and bill
pattern look strange. I had Shawneen look at the photos and she agreed that the
bird looked odd. We pulled out our copy of Steve N.G. Howell's seabird book
("Petrels, Albatrosses and Storm-Petrels of North America") and found several
photos of putative Laysan Albatross X Black-footed Albatross hybrids that have
face and bill patterns, along with rump/tail patterns that match what I see in
your photos.
Do you have any other photos of this bird and/or do you remember anything else
about it that might have seemed out of sync for a pure Laysan?
We'll look forward to hearing more.
Dave Irons
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