balearic shearwaters in the bosphorus? (1 Viewer)

just back from a couple of days in istanbul where i saw many yelkouan shearwaters passing up and down the bosphorus.
One bird i saw however resembled an intermediate or even dark balearic. Apart from the really dusky body plumage i didn't notice any other differences with the yelkouans in the same flock (although that's not to say there weren't any) although it was flying a noticeable touch faster. The dark colouration definitely wasn't down to e.g oiling.
so my question is - which is more likely, a balearic in Istanbul or a very dark yelkouan?
cheers,
James

Well, Kirwan et al 2008 (Birds of Turkey), plus online updates, doesn't mention any records/claims of Balearic Shearwater in Turkey.

Richard

thanks Richard,
that's interesting. If balearics are basically unkown in Turkey I guess there's a chance it is some sort of rare variant then. Maybe i will get in touch with Guy Kirwan and at least let him know.
James

There are several records off Cape Town thus it shouldn't be too rare in Turkey...

FD