NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS

Photographed off Otago Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand, April, 2019

(* 273)                     NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS                Diomedea sandfordi   

NEW ZEALAND               93

Known by Maori name Toroa. Locally common endemic. Breeds at Taiaroa Head, Dunedin and The Sisters and The Forty-fours, Chatham. Ranges widely circumpolar through the southern oceans, and most often seen in NZ coastal waters in winter, except seen throughout the year at Taiaroa Heads where 30-35 pairs breed.

NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS

273       NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS      Diomedea epomophora

Australia                 (243)

1-1.2 m; wingspan 3-3.5 m. Sometimes divided into Northern Royal Albatross and Southern Royal Albatross. Found off the shores of southern Australia, Victoria and southern NSW.