Thursday 13 October 2011

The Skull...


The other day, Christie and I were on a secret mission for work in the region of the Freycinet Peninsula and we (well, mostly Christie) stumbled upon this skull. Because I'm a birdo, Christie tasked me with identifying its erstwhile owner. After being threatened with punishments that Christie would be powerless to enforce, I did my assigned homework tonight and have come up with the answer: it was a White-Headed Petrel. It was a fairly easy id; the magnificent (and rather scary) hook in the beak told me it was a fishing bird, the white feathers gave me a clue about its colouring, and its measurements helped me narrow down the field until I only had one bird left. Of course, I could be entirely wrong, but I maintain that I'm not. So there!

P.S. This is what a White-Headed Petrel looks like when its slightly less deadified.

No comments: