Headless albatross maybe the victim of stoats

HEADLESS ALBATROSS: This albatross was found at Baylys Beach recently.

Stoats are being blamed for the number of headless albatross and other sea birds being found on our west coast beaches lately.

Renee Henderson of the Ornithological Society has just started a dead seabird study and was interested to find several headless seabirds on our beaches.

"We were walking along Baylys Beach and came across what looks to be a headless albatross."

Native Bird Recovery Centre founder Robert Webb believes the unusually dry weather has caused the stoat population to explode.

"Stoats eat just the birds' heads and sometimes their chests. They particularly like the brains of birds and they will just run up and attack them."

He says penguins are especially vulnerable and a number of headless penguins have been found.

His other theory is black back gulls might be attacking them.

"They have been known to just go up to other birds and attack them, sometimes leaving them dead."

- © Fairfax NZ News