Hybrid Albatross photographed off Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia on 6 April 08. Features that are good for Grey-headed Albatross are shorter heavier bill when compared with Buller's (which have a proportionally longer bill that contributes much to their flat-headed appearance), more thickset rounded head, angle formed by the rear edge of the lower mandible where it meets the feathering of the head is far flatter than the rather acute angle of Buller's, underwing pattern that shows black feathering bleeding into the white on the innerwing typical of Grey-headed, ghosting of grey head pattern typical of Grey-headed rather than the full hooded appearance of Buller's and the pink bill tip. Features that are good for Buller's are bill colouration (too much yellow for Grey-headed and markedly closer to a typical Buller's but not a perfect match), and bulbous base to culminicorn where it meets the forehead (Hybrid Albatross - 5442 shows this well). Given the intermediate structural features there is growing consensus that this is a hybrid with Grey-headed X Black-browed (melanophrys) Albatross being the best fit. Structurally the two species are quite similar which would go a long way to explaining the retained structural similarities with Grey-headed. However the shape of the culminicorn is different in Black-browed and the Port-fairy bird shows a much closer fit for that. Black-browed genes would also explain the horn colouration in the latericorn, the more extensive yellow on both the upper and lower mandible and the more extensive pink wash to the bill tip. Plumage-wise this would also fit. The underwing is OK for both Grey-headed and Black-browed, the head pattern remains as a ghosted Grey-headed pattern with retained darker cheeks but generally the head is much whiter (the influence of Black-browed genes?) than one would expect for an older Grey-headed Albatross - and this appears to be a full adult based on extensive white in the underwing and prominent pink bill tip (both features of full adult Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatross). If you have more to contribute to the discussion please send an email to rohan 'at' wildlifeimages.com.au