Breeds at Solander and Snares islands, New Zealand. Rare vagrant to seas off south-eastern Australia, north to about Byron Bay, NSW. Only scattered records further north.
Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) [XC34718]
by David Boyle from Chatham Islands: at sea, New Zealand (calling in water)
Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) [XC424845]
by id from Middle Sister, Chatham Islands, New Zealand (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds on Solander and Snares Islands (January - February).
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Nest
A conical mound, composed of earth and grass, with a small egg hollow, on the ground. In colonies.
Eggs (Guide)
1; chalky, creamy-white, sometimes speckled with brownish-red; ellipsoidal; 93 - 11 x 61 - 70 mm. Incubation: about 69 days; by both sexes, but initially by female after laying.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledging in about 120 - 150 days. Fed by both parents by incomplete regurtitation.
Subspecies
Diomedea bulleri (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) is retained as a species in the genus Thalassarche following Brooke (2004) contra Robertson and Nunn (1998) who split it into Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) and Pacific Albatross (Thalassarche platei).
Some consider Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) and Pacific Albatross (Thalassarche platei) to be subspecies rather than full species.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
bulleri (Rothschild, 1893) - Solander and Snares Is.
platei (Reichenow, 1898) - Three Kings and Chatham Is. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Pacific Albatross (Thalassarche platei).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet