Great albatrosses

Five species of great albatrosses breed in New Zealand, mainly on offshore islands such as Antipodes and Chatham islands. Only two species (wandering and royal albatrosses) used to be recognised. These two species were grouped in the forms used by observers until 2007 to record bird counts around fishing vessels. The accepted taxonomy in New Zealand has since changed, and the forms now in use separate counts of the different albatrosses. However, within each species complex, species can be difficult to distinguish from each other at sea, and some misidentifications may occur.

Diomedea spp.

Mean number of great albatrosses recorded around fishing vessels during counts carried out by government observers, binned to 0.4 degree of longitude and latitude. The size of the circle indicates the number of observations, whereas the colour indicates the mean number of birds recorded during counts. Empty circles indicate that no birds were observed. The grey areas indicate water depths of less than 1000 m.

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