Help w/ South African bird ID

Last August I was in Africa and got some amazing shots of many animals and birds only found in Africa. I made a point of taking notes and names all the bird shots I have 9actually my wife was the scribe), except one. We were several KM or miles off the coast of South Africa in a whale watching boat when this huge brown bird circled the boat and landed in the water 40 or 50 feet off the side of the boat. It has a large wingspan of 3 to 4 feet, webbed feet, and a gull-like beak. At first I thought it was a hawk or some kind of eagle or raptor, but the webbed feet and beak threw me off. The closest I could find in my research is the Black-footed Albatross, but the brown feathering on it's head, and the white feathering around the base of the beak just doesn't match. I know there are many great birders on this forum and i'm hoping you can help me with this one.

Thanks
Garry Revesz
Toronto

This is a difficult call indeed Garry. Are you sure it was as big as you described? Was it alone? Without any size reference I would say this could be a juvenile Cape Gull (Larus vetula), but those are much smaller (app 55-65cm) and are very common and mostly with more.
If it is as big as 3-4 feet it might be the Light-mantled sooty albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) (juvenile) (looking at my guide books now), which has a distinct dark cap. It is however quite rare to see apparently. Sorry to confuse you more

That's the thing Vincent, it was all alone. There were some other gulls around but nothing like this guy. Size wise; it may be a little smaller than I described, maybe 2-1/2 to 3 feet, but no smaller than that. I have other pictures from different angles because it circled the boat before landing in the water, I'll try include it now, but I think I can only upload one at a time in the forum in 24hr., as I understand it, so I'll put another one up ASAP. In the meantime, I'll lookup your suggestions as well.

Thanks

Garry

I am no expert on South African birds, but it is definitely not an albatross. Do Skuas make it was far north as South Africa? The first photo shows the hooked bill tip that I associate with the Skuas, and the coloration is right. At a guess, Brown Skua, Stercorarius antarcticus? It's a large bird, 50-60 inch wingspan, and pretty chunky, much heavier than most gulls. The behvior you describe is right, too; Brown Skuas are enthusiastic ship followers. See what your field guide says and let me know.

Thanks Jim, you nailed it. It's a Brown Skua, also known as Antarctic Skua, Giant Skua, etc. with a wingspan of 50"- 61". They are the largest of the southern oceans birds and will follow freighters for fish garbage, and they will attack other birds like gulls and get them to drop their catch. They are on the threatened list but of least concern. So I was right when I remembered this sucker was huge and had never seen one before, not that I hang around the oceans off of South Africa that much anyway. Good call Jim for getting me on the right track

Garry