The other unusual looking birds of the trip were the Giant Petrels. These are really big birds, the size of a medium-sized albatross, that followed the ship for most of the expedition.
These birds are just oversized looking in every aspect. They have giant bils, and the color of the tip of the bill (green in this Southern Giant Petrel *Macronectes giganteus and red in the Northern Giant Petrel) is the main way to differentiate the two species. These species are scavengers who eat carrion of essentially every imaginable source in the area, including seals, whales and birds. They also kill and eat the young of other bird species.
Sometimes the grace and elegance of birds can be the primary lure to observers, but at othertimes the odd shape and behavior is what catches our eye, as in these species.
Good birding.
