prey of the wandering albatross

The Wandering Albatross

The Wandering Albatross, also known as Diomedea exulans, is a majestic seabird that belongs to the albatross family. This species is renowned for having the largest wingspan of any living bird, reaching an impressive measure of up to 11 feet. With their long, slender wings, they effortlessly glide through the air, utilizing air currents to cover great distances over the southern oceans. These beautiful birds have a white plumage, with black outer wing feathers and a distinctive pinkish bill. They possess a keen sense of smell, allowing them to locate food sources such as fish and squid from great distances. Wandering Albatrosses are known for their lifelong monogamous relationships and elaborate mating rituals, consisting of intricate dances and vocalizations.

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Wandering albatross : diet, predators, aggression, and defensive behaviors, what do wandering albatrosses eat.

Wandering Albatrosses primarily feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. They are skilled predators that use their keen eyesight to spot prey from high above the ocean's surface. They are known to travel long distances in search of food, often following fishing vessels to scavenge for leftovers.

Do Wandering Albatrosses have any predators?

Wandering Albatrosses are impressive birds with few natural predators due to their large size and ability to soar long distances. However, their eggs and chicks are vulnerable to predation by invasive species such as rats and feral cats on their breeding islands. In some cases, adult albatrosses may also fall prey to large birds of prey like skuas.

Are Wandering Albatrosses aggressive?

Wandering Albatrosses are not typically aggressive birds. They are known for their peaceful nature and spend a majority of their time flying over the open ocean in search of food. They do, however, display aggression towards intruders near their breeding colonies to protect their mates and nesting sites.

Do Wandering Albatrosses fight?

Wandering Albatrosses are not known to engage in physical fights with each other or other species, as their territorial disputes are usually settled through displays of courtship or aggressive behavior. These displays involve posturing, vocalizations, and bill-snapping rather than actual physical violence.

How do Wandering Albatrosses defend themselves?

Wandering Albatrosses have evolved several strategies to defend themselves against potential threats. One of their main defenses is their ability to fly long distances over the ocean, allowing them to escape from danger quickly. They also rely on their large size and sharp beaks to ward off predators or rivals if necessary.

What is the biggest weakness of Wandering Albatrosses in a fight?

One of the biggest weaknesses of Wandering Albatrosses in a fight is their vulnerability on land. While they are powerful and agile flyers, albatrosses are not well-equipped for ground combat. Their long wings and legs make them less maneuverable on solid ground, leaving them at a disadvantage against smaller, more agile predators that may ambush them near their nesting sites.

Fun Fact : These amazing seabirds have a lifespan of approximately 50 years, with some individuals being recorded to live up to 70 years, making them one of the longest-living birds in the world.

Fun Fact : The Wandering Albatross nests on remote islands, such as the sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and the Crozet Islands. They create their nests on rugged terrain, where they lay a single egg and take turns incubating it, with both parents sharing the responsibility equally.

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Wandering Albatross

Table of Contents

Scientific Classification

Table of content.

Physical Description

Size : They measure at around 3 ft 6 in to 4 ft 5 in (1.07-1.35 m).

Weight : Adult wandering albatrosses typically weigh between 13 and 28 lbs (5.9-12.7 kg).

Color : The plumage for juveniles is chocolate brown which becomes whiter with age. The wings in adults are white with black around the tips while the female’s wings have more black on them. The bill and feet are pink.

Sexual Dimorphism : Males are a little bit larger than females.

Wingspan : They have the largest wingspan among birds , measuring at around 8 ft 3 in to 11 ft 6 in (2.51-3.5 m).

The two recognized subspecies of the wandering albatross are D. e. exulans (nominate subspecies) and the D. e. gibsoni (also known as Gibson’s albatross).

Distribution

The breeding range for the wandering albatross includes South Georgia Island, Crozet Islands, Prince Edward Islands, Kerguelen Islands, and Macquarie Islands. It also feeds around the Kaikoura Peninsula on New Zealand’s South Island east coast.

They inhabit subantarctic islands with tussock grass, sedges, shrubs, mosses and peat soils. They nest on ridges, plateaus, valleys, and plains.

Wandering Albatross Pictures

Wandering Albatross Images

• These birds spend most of their lives in the air, traveling long distances.
• They live in small groups during their forages in the sea.
• They become rather social during the breeding season.
• They are territorial towards members of the same sex during the breeding season and defend their nesting area with vocalizations.

Wandering albatrosses eat fish, squids, and crustaceans.

Mating & Reproduction

These birds mate for life and mate every other year. Males reach the breeding grounds before females and locate the same nesting sites they had used the previous season, although they may also choose to build new ones. Females arrive after males. The breeding season usually occurs between December and March. The female lays one egg per breeding season which is then incubated for 74-85 days. Both parents take part in incubation.

The hatchling stays in its parents’ care for up to 9 months of age, after which they achieve independence. They reach sexual maturity by the time they are 9 years old.

Wandering Albatross Chick

Wandering Albatross Size

Wandering albatrosses can live for up to 50 years.

Sounds & Communication

These birds communicate by croaking, bill-clapping, bill-touching, trumpeting, and pointing towards the sky with their bills.

Adaptations

• The large wings of the wandering albatross help them fly for vast distances over several hours without flapping. For every meter of drop in altitude, they can travel 22 meters in distance.
• The salt gland at the nasal passage helps them desalinate their bodies of the excess salt they come in contact with because of their oceanic lifestyle.
• They can dive up to a meter into the ocean to catch their prey. They, however, prefer to catch the fish from the surface of the ocean.

The Wandering Albatross

Wandering Albatross Flying

Adult wandering albatrosses have no predators. Eggs, hatchlings, and juveniles, on the other hand, are preyed upon by sheathbills and skuas. In addition to these two, several introduced animals like goats, pigs, rats, mice, and cats also eat the chicks and eggs.

IUCN Conservation Status

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the wandering albatross under their ‘Vulnerable’ category.

Interesting Facts

• The wandering albatross is the biggest bird in its genera and one the largest in the world.
• One individual lived to be 60 years old in New Zealand. She was named ‘Grandma.’
• Another banded individual was recorded to have traveled 3,730 miles in just 12 days.

Wandering Albatross Wingspan

Wandering Albatross Bird

• http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/wandering-albatross.php https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/to-do/wildlife/wandering-albatross https://beautyofbirds.com/wandering-albatrosses/ http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Diomedea_exulans/#ff4ee5a1ac2a7a07a049350b7c9b6fbc https://www.britannica.com/animal/albatross#ref243427 http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22698305/0

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Wandering Albatross

Diomedea exulans

Known for its majestic wingspan and far-ranging travels, the Wandering Albatross is a captivating presence in the Southern Ocean's expanse. As the bird with the widest wingspan globally, this remarkable creature glides effortlessly across vast oceanic distances, its brilliant white plumage and solitary habits making it a unique symbol of the wild, open sea.

On this page

Appearance and Identification

Vocalization and sounds, behavior and social structure, distribution and habitat, lifespan and life cycle, conservation status, similar birds.

Males and females have similar plumage

Primary Color

Primary color (juvenile), secondary colors.

Black, Grey

Secondary Colors (female)

Secondary colors (juvenile).

White, Grey

Secondary Colors (seasonal)

Wing color (juvenile).

Large, Hooked

Beak Color (juvenile)

Leg color (juvenile), distinctive markings.

Black wings, white tail, large pink beak

Distinctive Markings (juvenile)

Darker than adults, brown beak

Tail Description

White with black edges

Tail Description (juvenile)

Brown with white edges

Size Metrics

107cm to 135cm

250cm to 350cm

6.72kg to 12kg

Click on an image below to see the full-size version

Pair of Wandering Albatrosses

Juvenile Wandering Albatross

Wandering Albatross resting on the sea

Wandering Albatross in-flight over the ocean

Wandering Albatross at nest with downy chick

Primary Calls

Series of grunts and whistles

Call Description

Most vocal on breeding grounds, otherwise silent

Alarm Calls

Loud, harsh squawks

Daily Activities

Active during day, rests on water surface at night

Social Habits

Solitary at sea, social on breeding grounds

Territorial Behavior

Defends nest site during breeding season

Migratory Patterns

Non-migratory but wanders widely at sea

Interaction with Other Species

Occasionally forms loose flocks at sea

Primary Diet

Fish, Squid

Feeding Habits

Surface seizes and scavenges

Feeding Times

Day and night

Prey Capture Method

Plunge-diving, surface-seizing

Diet Variations

May eat carrion

Special Dietary Needs (if any)

Nesting location.

On ground on isolated islands

Nest Construction

Mound of mud and vegetation

Breeding Season

Every other year

Number of clutches (per breeding season)

Once every two years

Egg Appearance

White, oval

Clutch Characteristics

Incubation period.

Around 80 days

Fledgling Period

Approximately 9 months

Parental Care

Both parents incubate and feed chick

Geographic Range

Circumpolar in Southern Ocean

Habitat Description

Open ocean, breeds on remote islands

Elevation Range

Migration patterns, climate zones.

Polar, Temperate

Distribution Map

Please note, this range and distribution map is a high-level overview, and doesn't break down into specific regions and areas of the countries.

Non-breeding

Lifespan range (years)

Average lifespan, maturity age.

7-10 year(s)

Breeding Age

Reproductive behavior.

Monogamous, long-term pair bonds

Age-Related Changes

Younger birds are darker, gain white plumage with age

Current Status

Vulnerable (IUCN Red List)

Major Threats

Longline fishing, plastic ingestion, climate change

Conservation Efforts

Protected under international law, conservation programs on breeding islands

Population Trend

Slow but steady population decrease due to threats

Royal Albatross

Diomedea epomophora

Classification

Other names:

Snowy Albatross, White-winged Albatross

Population size:

Population trend:

Conservation status:

IUCN Red List

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Animal encyclopedia

Exploring the magnificent wandering albatross.

September 4, 2023

John Brooks

September 4, 2023 / Reading time: 6 minutes

Sophie Hodgson

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Table of Contents

The Wandering Albatross is a truly remarkable bird that captivates the imagination of wildlife enthusiasts and researchers alike. With its impressive wingspan and majestic flight, this magnificent creature has a unique story to tell. In this article, we will delve into the world of the Wandering Albatross, exploring its characteristics, habitat, life cycle, diet, threats, conservation efforts, and even its role in culture and literature.

Understanding the Wandering Albatross

The Wandering Albatross, a majestic seabird, is a fascinating creature that captures the imagination with its impressive size and unique characteristics . Let’s delve deeper into the defining features and habitat of this remarkable bird.

Defining Characteristics of the Wandering Albatross

With a wingspan of up to 11 feet, the Wandering Albatross boasts the largest wingspan of any bird in the world. This remarkable wingspan allows it to glide effortlessly over the vast open oceans it calls home. As it soars through the air, its wingspan creates a mesmerizing spectacle, showcasing the bird’s incredible adaptability to its environment.

The Wandering Albatross is easily recognizable by its distinctive white feathers , sleek body, and long, slender wings . These defining features not only contribute to its graceful appearance but also serve a purpose in its survival. The white feathers help camouflage the bird against the bright sunlight reflecting off the ocean’s surface, while the sleek body and long wings enable it to navigate the winds with precision.

The Albatross’s Unique Habitat

These graceful birds are found primarily in the southern oceans, particularly around the Antarctic region. The vast expanse of the Southern Ocean provides an ideal environment for the Wandering Albatross to thrive. With its ability to cover immense distances, the bird utilizes the strong winds to its advantage, effortlessly gliding across the ocean in search of food and suitable breeding grounds.

During their long journeys, Wandering Albatrosses traverse various oceanic regions, from the sub-Antarctic to as far as the coast of South America. Their nomadic lifestyle allows them to explore different ecosystems , adapting to the ever-changing conditions of the open ocean.

When on land, the Wandering Albatross prefers remote and isolated islands for nesting. These islands provide the perfect breeding environment, away from human disturbance and terrestrial predators. Here, amidst the rugged cliffs and pristine beaches, the albatrosses establish their colonies, creating a spectacle of life in the midst of the vast ocean.

These incredible birds are known to return to the same nesting sites year after year, demonstrating their strong site fidelity . The remote islands become their sanctuary, where they engage in courtship rituals, build nests, and raise their young. It is a testament to their resilience and adaptability that they have managed to maintain these nesting sites for generations, despite the challenges they face in the ever-changing world.

As we continue to explore and understand the Wandering Albatross, we uncover more about its remarkable adaptations, behaviors, and interactions with its environment. The more we learn, the more we appreciate the intricate web of life that exists in the vast oceans, where these magnificent birds reign supreme.

The Life Cycle of the Wandering Albatross

Breeding and nesting patterns.

The breeding season for the Wandering Albatross begins in the austral summer months, with courtship rituals that involve intricate displays of dance and vocalizations . These courtship displays are not only a way for the albatrosses to attract a mate but also a means of establishing dominance within their colony. The males showcase their impressive wingspan and perform elaborate dances, while the females respond with their own graceful movements.

Once a pair bonds, they establish a nest on the chosen island and begin the process of reproduction. The nests are carefully constructed using a combination of soil, grass, and other materials found on the island. The albatrosses take great care in selecting the perfect location for their nest, ensuring it is protected from the harsh elements and predators.

The female typically lays a single egg, which both parents take turns incubating. Incubation lasts for approximately 60 days, during which the parents rotate shifts to keep the egg warm and protected. This shared responsibility is a testament to the strong bonds formed between Wandering Albatross pairs. The parents take turns leaving the nest to search for food, returning to regurgitate the nutrient-rich meal for their growing chick.

During the incubation period, the albatrosses face numerous challenges. They must withstand strong winds, freezing temperatures, and potential threats from predators . Despite these difficulties, the dedicated parents remain vigilant, ensuring the survival of their offspring.

Growth and Development Stages

After hatching, the chicks are cared for and fed by both parents. The parents regurgitate a nutrient-rich oil that provides essential nourishment for the growing chick. This feeding process continues for several months until the chick becomes independent enough to forage on its own. The oil not only provides the necessary nutrients but also helps to strengthen the chick’s immune system, protecting it from potential diseases.

As the chick grows, it undergoes various developmental stages. Its downy feathers gradually give way to juvenile plumage, which is darker in coloration. The chick’s beak also undergoes changes, becoming stronger and more adapted to catching prey. During this time, the parents continue to provide guidance and protection, teaching the chick essential survival skills.

It takes years for a Wandering Albatross chick to reach maturity. During this time, they undergo a remarkable transformation, gradually developing their characteristic white plumage and mastering their flight skills. The albatrosses spend a significant portion of their juvenile years at sea, honing their flying abilities and exploring vast oceanic territories. It is during this period that they face various challenges, including encounters with other seabirds and potential threats from human activities.

It is this lengthy growth period that contributes to the vulnerability of this species and its slow population recovery. The Wandering Albatross faces numerous threats, including habitat loss, climate change, and accidental capture in fishing gear. Conservation efforts are crucial to ensure the survival of these magnificent birds and their unique life cycle.

The Wandering Albatross’s Diet and Hunting Techniques

Preferred prey and hunting grounds.

The Wandering Albatross is primarily a scavenger, feeding on a variety of marine organisms, including squid, fish, and crustaceans. They use their keen eyesight to spot potential prey items floating on the ocean surface, and once sighted, they plunge-dived from great heights to capture their meal. Additionally, these birds are known to scavenge carrion and exploit fishing vessels for an easy meal.

Adaptations for Hunting in the Open Ocean

Surviving in the harsh oceanic environment requires specialized adaptations, and the Wandering Albatross is well-equipped for the task. Its long wings enable it to glide effortlessly for long periods, conserving energy during hours of flight. The bird’s keen sense of smell allows it to locate food sources, even from great distances. These adaptations make the Wandering Albatross a formidable hunter and a vital component of the oceanic ecosystem.

Threats and Conservation Efforts

Human impact on the wandering albatross.

Despite their grace and beauty, Wandering Albatrosses face numerous threats that have contributed to their decline. One of the main challenges is the destructive impact of longline fishing operations, where the birds mistakenly become hooked or tangled in the fishing gear. Additionally, pollution, habitat degradation, and climate change further jeopardize the survival of these birds.

Current Conservation Strategies and Their Effectiveness

To safeguard the future of the Wandering Albatross, concerted conservation efforts are underway. Several measures have been implemented, including the establishment of protected areas and marine reserves, the development of guidelines for responsible fishing practices, and public awareness campaigns to promote the importance of nurturing this iconic species. While progress has been made, continued efforts are required to ensure the recovery and long-term survival of the Wandering Albatross.

The Role of the Wandering Albatross in Culture and Literature

Symbolism and significance in various cultures.

Throughout history, the Wandering Albatross has held deep cultural significance in many communities. In some cultures, these birds are considered symbols of loyalty, freedom, and endurance. They are often associated with seafaring traditions and are believed to bring good fortune to sailors.

The Albatross in Classic and Contemporary Literature

The haunting imagery of the Wandering Albatross has inspired numerous works of literature. Perhaps the most famous reference is found in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” where an albatross is depicted as a harbinger of both good and ill fortune. Furthermore, many modern authors have woven the essence of the Wandering Albatross into their stories, capturing its mystique and its role as a symbol of the natural world.

In conclusion, the Wandering Albatross is a remarkable bird with a captivating presence. From its unique characteristics to its adaptations for survival in the open ocean , this magnificent creature enthralls all who encounter it. However, its existence is threatened by human activities and environmental changes. Through ongoing conservation efforts and a deeper appreciation of its cultural significance, we can work towards ensuring a future where the Wandering Albatross continues to grace the skies above the vast southern oceans.

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Wandering Albatross

The Wandering Albatross is a massive bird known by many names. In various regions, people call this bird a Snowy Albatross, Goonie, and White Winged Albatross.

Not only are they the largest of the 22 albatross species, but they also have the longest wingspan of any bird. Their wings commonly measure up to 10 ft. across, and the largest confirmed specimen had a wingspan over 12 ft. across! Read on to learn about the Wandering Albatross .

Description of the Wandering Albatross

This species of albatross has white plumage, or feathers, with darker wings. Their wing feathers are black, and speckled with varying degrees of white. Young birds have brown feathers, which become white as they age.

This bird’s wingspan is quite large, and averages 10 feet across, though some individuals are larger. Finally, their beaks are moderately long, with a hook at the end to help grasp fish.

Interesting Facts About the Wandering Albatross

This species has the longest wingspan of any living bird … Ever! However, that is not the only notable thing about the Wandering Albatross.

• Monogamous Mates – Once a Wandering Albatross has found a suitable mate, it continues to breed with that bird for the rest of its life. They are doting parents, and take great care in rearing their chicks. It sometimes takes up to 10 months for the chick to learn how to fly and become independent of its parents.
• Time Constraints – Obviously when it takes 10 months to raise a single chick, it can be difficult to jump right back into parenthood. For this reason, Wandering Albatrosses breed once every 2 years.
• Slow to Mature – Adult albatrosses don’t even begin reproducing until they are about 10 years old on average. They sometimes join the other birds at the breeding colonies and perform mating displays. However, most of the time they do not find a mate and begin to breed until they are around 10 years old.
• Slow Growth – Unfortunately, because these birds are so slow to mature, and they breed at a very slow rate, their populations do not increase quickly. Because of this, when their populations decline it takes a long time for them to make a comeback. Humans pose threats to these birds in a number of different ways, and the IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable .

Habitat of the Wandering Albatross

These birds spend the vast majority their life flying over, or floating on the surface of, the ocean. They inhabit the open ocean, primarily where the waters are deep, and fish are plentiful. The only time they come to land is for the mating season. During this time, colonies of birds land on plateaus, valleys, and plains.

Distribution of the Wandering Albatross

There are several different subspecies of Wandering Albatross, all of which live in the open oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. Outside of the breeding season, they roam the open oceans in between Antarctica and the southern coasts of Africa, South America, and Australia. Their primary breeding colonies are on various islands across the Southern Hemisphere, including South Georgia, Macquarie, Amsterdam Island, and more.

Diet of the Wandering Albatross

This seabird unsurprisingly feeds primarily on fish and other aquatic organisms. They eat fish, octopus, squid, shrimp, and krill.

They also scavenge on the remains of carcasses, as well as feeding on the scraps from commercial fishing operations and other predators. Though they can dive if they need to, they catch most of their food at the surface of the water.

Wandering Albatross and Human Interaction

Unfortunately, humans are extremely detrimental to these birds. Sailors have killed birds, both at sea and in nesting colonies, for decades. In fact, humans are the only known predator of adult albatrosses.

Nowadays it is illegal to harm these birds, though killing does still occur. Sadly, they frequently, and accidentally, become trapped in fishing nets or on fishing lines. Humans have also introduced many different feral animals to their breeding islands, and these animals eat the eggs and chicks.

Domestication

Humans have not domesticated this species of bird in any way.

Does the Wandering Albatross Make a Good Pet

No, the Wandering Albatross does not make a good pet. Their huge wings carry them across open ocean, which would make them a poor household pet. It most places, it is illegal to harm, harass, capture, or kill these birds.

Wandering Albatross Care

These birds do not often find themselves in zoos. The only time any albatross species lives in a zoo or aquarium is when something has severely injured them in some way.

During those times, zoos attempt to heal and rehabilitate the birds, and release them back into the wild if possible. Albatrosses that live in zoos because they cannot survive in the wild act as ambassadors to the plight of their species.

Behavior of the Wandering Albatross

This species is quite social, even outside of the breeding season. While in the open ocean, small groups of Wandering Albatrosses forage together. These groups frequently converge upon one another when feeding opportunities, like bait balls or fishing vessels, arise.

As the breeding season arrives, huge colonies of birds flock to their breeding grounds together. Birds searching for mates perform elaborate courtship displays, and mated pairs renew their bonds.

Reproduction of the Wandering Albatross

Every 2 years a pair breeds and produces a single egg, usually in December. Both the male and the female help incubate the egg, which hatches after 2.5 months. Once the chick hatches the parents alternate between keeping it warm and fishing for food.

After the chick is a month old, both parents leave it alone to hunt for food. It takes between 9 and 10 months for the chick to learn how to fly and gain independence.

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Wandering Albatross Facts

Wandering albatross profile.

In 1961, Dion and the Del Satins had a song from the perspective of an albatross. It wasn’t accurate on many counts, but it did get one thing right: they get around.

The Diomedea exulans, more commonly known as the wandering albatross is perhaps the most accomplished wanderer of any animal, with routine voyages of hundreds of kilometres per day on record-breaking wings.

They are a large seabird with a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean, and sometimes known as snowy albatross, white-winged albatross or goonie.

Wandering Albatross Facts Overview

The wandering albatross breeds on islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, such as South Georgia Island, Crozet Islands, Prince Edward Island and others.

They spend most of their life in flight , and land only to breed and feed.

These are phenomenal birds, capable of surviving some of the harshest weather conditions even at the most vulnerable stages of their development.

They are slow to reproduce, spending extra time to develop into one of the biggest and most specialised animals in the air.

Sadly, this is what makes them vulnerable to population declines, and longline fishing vessels are responsible for many adult deaths.

Interesting Wandering Albatross Facts

1. they can travel 120k km (75k) miles in a year.

The Wandering albatross might be the most wide-ranging of all foraging sea birds, and maybe of all animals. They’ve been tracked over 15,000 km in a single foraging trip, capable of speeds of up to 80 kmph and distances of over 900 km per day. 1

2. They’re monogamous (mostly)

This goes against the entire theme of the Del Satins song and is probably why it’s no longer used as a learning aid in the zoological curriculum.

Contrary to the promiscuous subject of the ‘60s hit, the Wandering Albatrosses mate for life and are (on average) monogamous.

When breeding, they take on incubation shifts, and it’s during these periods when the wanderer goes out on their epic voyages to return with food for their family.

Still, there’s an element of personal preference when it comes to breeding.

Most females will take a year or two off after the long and arduous task of reproduction. During this time the parents will go their separate ways, only to reunite when the time is right.

In these periods, some females will take on a temporary mate, so they can squeeze out one more chick before reuniting with their permanent nesting partner. 2

3. Wandering albatross are active in moonlight

When on these journeys, the albatross is almost constantly active. During the day they spend the entire time in the air, and while they don’t cover much distance at night, they were still recorded almost constantly moving – never stopping for more than 1.6h in the dark.

They appear to travel more on moonlit nights than on darker ones.

All of this data comes from satellite trackers attached to some birds, which are always going to skew the results.

Flying birds are optimised for weight, and trackers add to this weight, so there’s necessarily a negative effect on the individual’s fitness when lumbering them with a tracker.

Still, these subjects were able to outlast the trackers’ batteries on many occasions, and it’s safe to assume they’re capable of even more than we can realistically measure!

4. They have the largest wingspan of any bird in the world

One advantage that an albatross has over, say, a pigeon, when it comes to carrying a researcher’s hardware, is that it doesn’t need to flap much.

The albatross is the bird with the longest wingspan of any flying animal – growing up to 3.2 m (10.5 ft), and these wings are meticulously adapted for soaring.

The Guiness Book of Records claims the largest wingspan of any living species of bird was a wandering albatross with a wingspan of 3.63m (11 ft 11) caught in 1965 by scientists on the Antarctic research ship USNS Eltanin in the Tasman Sea.

Research has suggested that these wings function best against slight headwinds, and act like the sails of a boat, allowing the bird to cover more ground by “tacking”, like a sailboat: zig-zagging across the angle of the wind to make forward progress into it. 3

5. Fat chicks

As mentioned, these voyages are usually a result of foraging trips for their chicks.

The environment for a growing albatross is one of the least conducive for life. Freezing winter storms and exposed ledges make for a hilly upbringing for the baby birds.

Fed on a healthy diet of regurgitated squid, these albatross chicks grow to enormous sizes. On nesting sites, it’s not uncommon to find a fluffy baby albatross weighing up to 10kg.

These chicks are heavier than their parents, and they need the extra mass to protect them from the Winter season while they grow into fledglings. They’re also such big birds that they take longer than a season to reach maturity.

It takes around ten months of feeding, back and forth from the ocean every few days, for the parents to grow a healthy adult offspring.

6. Being a parent takes practice

When inexperienced parents were compared with those who’d brought up chicks before, it was found that their chicks are a little slower to fatten up, at least in the first few months.

Parents would feed less regularly, but with much larger amounts, and it seems to take a while to get the routine down.

By the end of the breeding season, these differences disappeared and the parents became fully qualified.

7. 25% of chicks die when they leave the colony

The huge chicks have one of the longest rearing periods of any bird, and this is after an 11-month incubation period! And if they survive all this, they still have a long way to go.

There’s a period of 3 to 7 years during which the young chick will leave the colony alone and spend the entire time at sea.

During the first two months of this learning phase, 25% of chicks die. This is a critical time for the young birds, but if they survive, they’ll return to the colony and find a mate. 4

8. They’re good sniffers

These birds feed primarily on smelly things like squid, and they’ve developed a very keen sense of smell to find them from downwind.

Wandering Albatrosses have one of the largest olfactory bulbs of any bird and they’re honed to fishy aromas.

They combine this sense with strong vision to identify productive areas of the ocean for hunting and foraging. 5

9. They are part of a ‘species complex’

When multiple species are so similar in appearance and other features, it makes their boundaries unclear and this group is known as a species complex.

The wandering albatross was long considered the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross. Along with the Amsterdam albatross, they form a species complex.

Taxonomy of animals in general is tricky, and some researchers still describe them as the same species.

10. The wandering albatross is vulnerable

The ICUN has classified the wandering albatross as vulnerable, and the last study of their population size in 2007 indicated there were an estimated 25,000 birds.

The biggest threat to their survival is fishing, in particular longline fishing. This is where a long mainline is used with baited hooks, and they are prone to accidental catching of birds, as well as dolphins, sharks, turtles and other sea creatures. Pollution, mainly from plastics and fishing hooks is also a problem for birds such as the wandering albatross.

Convervation efforts are underway to reduce bycatch of albatrosses and some breeding islands are now classified as nature reserves.

Wandering Albatross Fact-File Summary

Scientific classification, fact sources & references.

• Jouventin, P., Weimerskirch, H (1990), “ Satellite tracking of Wandering albatrosses “, Nature.
• GrrlScientist (2022), “ Divorce Is More Common In Albatross Couples With Shy Males, Study Finds “, Forbes.
• Richardson, P. L., Wakefield, E. D., & Phillips, R. A. (2018), “ Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind “, Movement Ecology.
• Weimerskirch, H., Cherel, Y., Delord, K., Jaeger, A., Patrick, S. C., & Riotte-Lambert, L. (2014), “ Lifetime foraging patterns of the wandering albatross: Life on the move! “, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.
• Nevitt, G. A., Losekoot, M., & Weimerskirch, H. (2008), “ Evidence for olfactory search in wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans “, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Wandering Albatross Fact File

The wandering albatross is the largest flying bird . Their wingspan is up to 3.5m (11ft) across. These wings are incredibly slender giving them very good aerial grace while flying.

A wandering albatross is colored white across most of its body with black on the wingtips. Their may also be a black tip to the tail and wavy lines across the breast in some individuals. Some also have a pinkish spot behind the ears. Females and males differ only in the females having brown speckles on the crown.

Their feet are colored a pale flesh color and have webbing between the toes which acts as brakes when they come in to land.

Protruding from the head is a yellowish-pink bill which has a small hook at the end. On either side of this are tubular nostrils which provide an excellent sense of smell.

The body of a wandering albatross measures 1.1m (3.5ft) long and weighs 8-11.5kg (18-25lbs).

Wandering albatross are carnivores. Their diet is composed of sea creatures such as fish, krill and squid. Most of their prey is taken at the surface or during shallow dives. Carrion may be taken including of larger species such as penguins or seals.

Increasingly these birds will follow fishing boats and take any items which are thrown aside.

Scientific Name

Diomedea exulans

Conservation Status

8-11.5kg (18-25lbs)

1.1m (3.5ft)

3.5m (11ft)

35-40 years

Carnivorous

These birds have a wide range running circumpolar around the Subantarctic Ocean. They can be found on land in the following countries - Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Australia, Bouvet Island, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Panama, Portugal, Réunion, Saint Helena, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Tonga, United States and Uruguay.

While breeding they will nest in open or patchy vegetation on an exposed hillside. During the rest of the year they fly above the southern ocean.

Reproduction

Breeding takes place in summer starting in December. Pairs are monogamous and form for life though females may find another mate if hers is not present when she returns to the nesting site and it is not uncommon for mating to occur outside of mated pairs.

Males return to their nesting site first and will make a nest or reuse one from previous years. The females will join them over the course of the next few weeks and locate their mate.

Pairs breed once every two years. If they fail to breed or their chick does not survive they may try again in the same season or the next year.

They undertake a courtship display which includes spreading the wings, clapping the bill and uttering a moaning call.

Their nest is made out of mud and vegetation and is placed on an exposed ridge.

Both parents will work together to incubate a single egg. The egg is incubated for 78 days. Once the chick hatches the parents will brood it for four to six weeks.

Following this the parents will leave the chick at the nest while they go off to feed. The chick continues to rely on its parents for food for 9-10 months. The parents may leave them alone for weeks at a time though while they go to feed. The chick is fed with regurgitated food.

They will first breed around 11-15 years old though they start returning to the colony at 6 years old.

Wandering albatross may spend up to 50 days out over the water flying and foraging for food. During the breeding season they will reduce the length of these trips.

While on these foraging trips they will travel in small groups. During the breeding season large numbers will come together at the breeding sites.

A range of vocalizations are made including croaks, bill-clapping and trumpeting.

Predators and Threats

Eggs are preyed upon by skuas and shearwaters. Their nests may also be targeted by introduced species such as cats, goats, pigs, rats and mice. Humans have previously hunted them in small amounts.

One of the largest developing threats for this species is long-line fishing. They can become entangled in these lines while hunting for food.

Quick facts

Their scientific name comes from a Latin word for ‘living in exile.’

They are occasionally called the ‘snowy albatross’ as they are so white. Others refer to them as the white-winged albatross.

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By Lieutenant Elizabeth Crapo, NOAA Corps: NOAA Photo Library - anim0672Uploaded by Snowmanradio, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15550183

Middle Two and Bottom

By JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20760374

Burnie, D., 2011. Animal. 3rd ed. London: DK

Ambrose, J., 2015. Wildlife Of The World. 1st ed. London: Dorling Kindersley, p.

Birdlife.org.au. 2020. Wandering Albatross | Birdlife Australia. [online] Available at: < https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/wandering-albatross > [Accessed 5 December 2020].

Antarctica.gov.au. 2020. Wandering Albatross. [online] Available at: < https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/animals/flying-birds/wandering-albatross/ > [Accessed 5 December 2020].

Tikkanen, A., 2020. Albatross | Bird. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: < https://www.britannica.com/animal/albatross > [Accessed 5 December 2020].

Scopel, L. 2007. "Diomedea exulans" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed December 05, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Diomedea_exulans/

Waugh, S.M. 2013. Wandering albatross. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz

Environment.nsw.gov.au. 2020. Wandering Albatross - Profile | NSW Environment, Energy And Science. [online] Available at: < https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=10907 > [Accessed 5 December 2020].

Bouglouan, N., 2020. Wandering Albatross. [online] Oiseaux-birds.com. Available at: < http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-wandering-albatross.html > [Accessed 5 December 2020].

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In 1998, the total annual breeding population was estimated at 8,500 pairs, equivalent to c. 28,000 mature individuals (Gales 1998). However, current estimates are 1,553 pairs on South Georgia (Georgias del Sur) (Poncet et al. 2006), 1,800 pairs on Prince Edward Island (2008, Ryan et al. 2009), c. 1,900 pairs on Marion Island (2013, ACAP 2009), c. 340 pairs on Iles Crozet (CNRS Chinzè Monitoring Database 2010), c. 354 pairs in Iles Kerguelen (CNRS Chinzè Monitoring Database 2011), and 4 pairs on Macquarie Island (DPIWPE 2010, unpublished data), making a total of c. 6,000 annual breeding pairs. Using the same ratio as Gales (1998) for estimating the number of mature individuals, this would equate to approximately 20,100 mature individuals.

Diomedea exulans breeds on South Georgia (Georgias del Sur) (c. 18% of the global breeding population), Prince Edward Islands ( South Africa ) (c. 44% of the global population), Crozet Islands and Kerguelen Islands ( French Southern Territories ) (approximately 38% of the global population) and Macquarie Island ( Australia ) (approximately four pairs breeding per year), with a total global population of c. 8,050 pairs breeding in any given year (ACAP 2009). At South Georgia, the population declined by 1.8% per annum between 1984 and 2004 (Poncet et al. 2006), and continued to decline by 1.8% per annum between 2004 and 2015 (A. Wolfaardt in litt . 2016). The population on Crozet declined by 54% between 1970 and 1986. From the mid-1980s to late 1990s, the Crozet, Kerguelen and Prince Edward Islands populations appeared to be stable or increasing (Weimerskirch et al. 1997, Weimerskirch and Jouventin 1998, Crawford et al. 2003, Ryan et al. 2003), but declines were later detected (H. Weimerskirch in litt. 2008, Ryan et al. 2009). Overall declines are estimated to exceed 30% over 70 years. Recovery is believed to be impeded by a decline in recruitment rate (Weimerskirch et al. 2006). Non-breeding and juvenile birds remain north of 50°S between subantarctic and subtropical waters with a significant proportion crossing the Indian Ocean to wintering grounds around the southern and eastern coast of Australia (Weimerskirch et al. 2014). A significant proportion of the Crozet and Kerguelen populations disperse into the Pacific and the western coast of South America (Weimerskirch et al. 2014, 2015). 

Behaviour Diomedea exulans is a biennial breeding species, although about 30% of successful and 35% of failed breeders (on average) defer breeding beyond the expected year. Adults return to colonies in November, and eggs are laid over a period of 5 weeks during December and January. Most chicks hatch in March and fledge in December. Birds usually return to colonies when 5-7 years old, though they can return when as young as 3 years old. Birds can start breeding as young as 7 or 8 years old, but more typically at 10-12 years old (Tickell 2000). Wandering Albatross typically forages in oceanic waters, however considerable time is spent over shelf areas during certain stages of the breeding season (BirdLife International 2004). Satellite tracking has revealed that juvenile birds tend to forage further north than adults (Weimerskirch et al. 2006, British Antarctic Survey, unpubl. data ), bringing them into greater overlap with longline tuna fleets which may be driving falls in recruitment rates (Weimerskirch et al. 1997). Females may also be at greater risk of being caught in tuna fisheries since they tend to forage further north than males (Nel et al. 2002, Weimerskirch et al. 2003, Pinaud and Weimerskirch 2007, Jiménez et al . 2016). It is mostly a diurnal breeder, taking most prey by surface-seizing (ACAP 2009).

Habitat Breeding Wandering Albatross nests in open or patchy vegetation near exposed ridges or hillocks (Carboneras 1992).

Diet Adults feed at sea mainly on cephalopods and fish, often following ships and feeding on offal and galley refuse (Carboneras 1992, Cherel and Klages 1998). Patagonian Toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides is the primary fish species in the diet, potentially obtained as discarded offal (Xavier et al . 2004).

Foraging range This wide-ranging species has a circumpolar distribution, and both breeding and non-breeding birds have very large foraging ranges. Satellite tracking data indicate that breeding birds forage at very long distances from colonies (up to 4,000 km) and that foraging strategies change throughout the breeding season (Froy et al. 2015). A fledgling covered 6,590 km in 28 days after leaving the colony on Marion Island (Clokie 2007).

The observed decline of this species has been shown to be driven largely by incidental catch in fisheries, which has reduced adult survival and juvenile recruitment (Rolland et a l. 2010, Pardo et al . 2017). Fisheries were responsible for a 54% decrease in numbers on the Crozet Islands between 1970 and 1986 (Weimerskirch et al . 1997). The South Georgia population is declining rapidly, but other populations (Prince Edward Islands and Crozet Islands) have shown signs of recovery. The South Georgia population disperses throughout the Southern Ocean during the nonbreeding season, although may be most at risk from longline fisheries operating in the south-west Atlantic throughout the year (Jiménez et al . 2014, 2016, Tancell et al . 2016), whereas the Crozet and Prince Edward Island populations are most vulnerable to pelagic longline fishing in the Indian Ocean and Australian region (Weimerskirch 1998, Nel et al. 2002c). The apparent recovery of populations from the Crozet and Prince Edward Islands during the early 1990s was ascribed to reduced fishing effort and relocation of fisheries away from foraging grounds, however increased effort in the late 1990s at various different localities may once again be impacting these populations (Weimerskirch et al . 1997, Nel et al . 2002b), as even low bycatch rates will affect the species due to the small population size (ACAP 2009). The Macquarie population was harvested extensively by sealers and despite recoveries in the early 20th century, it experienced subsequent declines that were also attributed to longline fisheries (de la Mare and Kerry 1994). Additionally, chicks are vulnerable to the accumulation of anthropogenic debris and fishing hooks, which may kill a small number annually (Nel and Nel 1999, Phillips et al. 2010, 2016).

The impacts of predation by introduced species are severe for some breeding populations. On Kerguelen, in some years, certain colonies have suffered complete breeding failure due to chick predation by cats Felis catus (H. Weimerskirch in litt . 2008). House mice Mus musculus have been recorded attacking Wandering Albatross chicks on Marion Island since 2003 and continue to affect up to 1% of the population (Dilley et al . 2015). There has been extensive habitat loss and degradation at South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur) due to the activities of Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazelle (ACAP 2009).

Text account compilers Stattersfield, A., Stuart, A., Sullivan, B., Symes, A., Fjagesund, T., Hermes, C., Calvert, R., Anderson, O., Martin, R., Moreno, R., Nel, D., Small, C.

Contributors Crawford, R., Weimerskirsch, H., Cooper, J., Ryan, P.G., Croxall, J., Wolfaardt, A., Gales, R., Phillips, R.

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Diomedea exulans . Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/wandering-albatross-diomedea-exulans on 20/06/2024. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org on 20/06/2024.

Taxonomic source(s) AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: #http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of _the_WP15.xls# . Brooke, M. de L. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World . Oxford University Press, Oxford. Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds . CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia. del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines . Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK. Robertson, C. J. R.; Nunn, G. B. 1998. Towards a new taxonomy for albatrosses. In: Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (ed.), Albatross biology and conservation , pp. 13-19. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia. SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: #http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm# .

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ACAP. 2009. ACAP Species Assessment: Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans . Available at: #http://www.acap.aq/acap-species/download-document/1207-wandering-albatross# .

BirdLife International. 2004. Tracking ocean wanderers: the global distribution of albatrosses and petrels . BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Carboneras, C. 1992. Diomedeidae (Albatrosses). In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (ed.), Handbook of the birds of the world , pp. 198-215. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Cherel, Y.; Klages, N. 1998. A review of the food of albatrosses. In: Robertson, G.; Gales, G. (ed.), Albatross biology and conservation , pp. 113-136. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia.

Clokie, L. 2007. A little wanderer. Bee-eater 58(4): 65-66.

Crawford, R. J. M.; Cooper, J.; Dyer, B. M.; Greyling, M.; Klages, N. T. W.; Ryan, P. G.; Petersen, S.; Underhill, L. G.; Upfold, L.; Wilkinson, W.; de Villiers, M.; du Plessis, S.; du Toit, M.; Leshoro, T. M.;…authors continued in notes. 2003. Populations of surface nesting seabirds at Marion Island, 1994/95-2002/03. African Journal of Marine Science 25: 427-440.

Croxall, J. P. and Gales, R. 1998. Assessment of the conservation status of albatrosses. In: Robertson, G. and Gales, R. (eds), Albatross biology and conservation , pp. 46-65. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia.

de la Mare, W. K.; Kerry, K. R. 1994. Population dynamics of the Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans ) on Macquarie Island and the effects of mortality from longline fishing. Polar Biology 14: 231-241.

Delord, K.; Besson, D.; Barbraud, C.; Weimerskirch, H. 2008. Population trends in a community of large Procellariforms of Indian Ocean: potential effects of environment and fisheries interactions. Biological Conservation 141(7): 1840-1856.

Dilley, B. J., Schoombie, S., Schoombie, J., Ryan, P. G. 2016. Scalping’of albatross fledglings by introduced mice spreads rapidly at Marion Island. Antarctic Science 28(02): 73-80.

Froy, H., Lewis, S., Catry, P., Bishop, C.M., Forster, I.P., Fukuda, A., Higuchi, H., Phalan, B., Xavier, J.C., Nussey, D.H., Phillips, R.A. 2015. Age-related variation in foraging behaviour in the wandering albatross at South Georgia: no evidence for senescence. PloS one 10(1): p.e0116415.

Gales, R. 1998. Albatross populations: status and threats. In: Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (ed.), Albatross biology and conservation , pp. 20-45. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia.

Gales, R.; Brothers, N.; Reid, T. 1998. Seabird mortality in the Japanese tuna longline fishery around Australia, 1988-1995. Biological Conservation 86: 37-56.

Jiménez S., Phillips, R.A., Brazeiro, A., Defeo, O., Domingo, A. 2014. Bycatch of great albatrosses in pelagic longline fisheries in the southwest Atlantic: Contributing factors and implications for management. Biological Conservation 171: 9-20.

Jiménez, S., A. Domingo, A. Brazeiro, O. Defeo, A. G. Wood, H. Froy, J. C. Xavier, Phillips, R. A. 2015. Sex‐related variation in the vulnerability of wandering albatrosses to pelagic longline fleets. Animal conservation 19(3): 281–295.

Jiménez, S., Domingo, A., Brazeiro, A, Defeo, O., Wood, A.G., Froy, H., Xavier, J.C., Phillips, R.A. 2016. Sex-related variation in the vulnerability of wandering albatrosses to pelagic longline fleets. Animal Conservation 19: 281-295.

Jones, M.G.W., Ryan, P.G. 2010. Evidence of mouse attacks on albatross chicks on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Antarctic Science 22: 39-42.

Nel, D. C.; Nel, J. L. 1999. Marine debris and fishing gear associated with seabirds at sub-antarctic Marion Island, 1996/97 and 1997/98: in relation to longline fishing activity. CCAMLR Science 6: 85-96.

Nel, D. C.; Ryan, P. G.; Cooper, J. 2002. Population dynamics of Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans at sub-Antarctic Marion Island: longline fishing and environmental influences .

Nel, D. C.; Ryan, P. G.; Crawford, R. J. M.; Cooper, J.; Huyser, O. 2002. Population trends of albatrosses and petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Polar Biology 25: 81-89.

Nel, D. C.; Ryan, P. G.; Nel, J. L.; Klages, N. T. W.; Wilson, R. P.; Robertson, G. 2002. Foraging interactions of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans breeding on Marion Island with longline fisheries in the southern Indian Ocean. Ibis 144: E141-E154.

Nel, D. C.;Taylor, F.; Ryan, P. G.; Cooper, J. 2003. Population dynamics of the Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans at Marion Island: longline fishing and environmental influences. African Journal of Marine Science 25(1): 503-517.

Pardo, D.; Forcada, J.; Wood, A.G.; Tuck, G.N.; Ireland, L.; Pradel, R.; Croxall, J.P.; Phillips, R.A. 2017. Additive effects of climate and fisheries drive ongoing declines in multiple albatross species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114(50): E10829-E10837.

Phillips, R. A.; Ridley, C.; Reid, K.; Pugh, P. J. A.; Tuck, G. N.; Harrison, N. 2010. Ingestion of fishing gear and entanglements of seabirds: monitoring and implications for management. Biological Conservation 143: 501-512.

Phillips, R.A., Gales, R., Baker, G.B., Double, M.C., Favero, M., Quintana, F., Tasker, M.L., Weimerskirch, H., Uhart, M., Wolfaardt, A. 2016. The conservation status and priorities for albatrosses and large petrels. Biological Conservation 201: 169-183.

Pinaud, D.; Weimerskirch, H. 2007. At-sea distribution and scale-dependent foraging behaviour of petrels and albatrosses: a comparative study. Journal of Animal Ecology 76: 9-19.

Poncet, S.; Robertson, G.; Phillips, R. A.; Lawton, K.; Phalan, B.; Trathan, P. N.; Croxall, J. P. 2006. Status and distribution of Wandering, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses breeding at South Georgia. Polar Biology 29: 772-781.

Quin, B. 2008. Trends in threatened species: Wandering Albatross. Wingspan 18(4 Suppl): 36.

Rolland, V.; Weimerskirch, H.; Barbraud, C. 2010. Relative influence of fisheries and climate on the demography of four albatross species. Global Change Biology 16(7): 1910-1922.

Ryan, P. G.; Cooper, J.; Dyer, B. M.; Underhill, L. G.; Crawford, R. J. M.; Bester, M. N. 2003. Counts of surface-nesting seabirds breeding at Prince Edward Island, Summer 2001/02. African Journal of Marine Science 25(1): 441-451.

Springer, K. 2016. Methodology and challenges of a complex multi-species eradication in the sub- Antarctic and immediate effects of invasive species removal. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 40(2): 273-278.

Tancell C.,Sutherland, W.J., Phillips R.A. 2016. Marine spatial planning for the conservation of albatrosses and large petrels breeding at South Georgia. Biological Conservation 198: 165-176.

Terauds, A.; Gales, R.; Baker, G. B.; Alderman, R. 2006. Population and survival trends of wandering Albatrosses ( Diomedea exulans ) breeding on Macquarie Island. Emu 106(3): 211-218.

Weimerskirch, H., Cherel, Y., Delord, K., Jaeger, A., Patrick, S. C., Riotte-Lambert, L. 2014. Lifetime foraging patterns of the wandering albatross: Life on the move! Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 450: 68-78.

Weimerskirch, H., Delord, K., Guitteaud, A., Phillips, R. A., Pinet, P. 2015. Extreme variation in migration strategies between and within wandering albatross populations during their sabbatical year, and their fitness consequences. Scientific reports 5.

Weimerskirch, H.; Akesson, S.; Pinaud, D. 2006. Postnatal dispersal of Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans : implications for the conservation of the species. Journal of Avian Biology 37: 23-28.

Weimerskirch, H.; Brothers, N.; Jouventin, P. 1997. Population dynamics of Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans and Amsterdam Albatross D. amsterdamensis in the Indian Ocean and their relationships with long-line fisheries: conservation implications. Biological Conservation 79: 257-270.

Weimerskirch, H.; Inchausti, P.; Guinet, C.; Barbraud, C. 2003. Trends in bird and seal populations as indicators of a system shift in the Southern Ocean. Antarctic Science 15: 249-256.

Weimerskirch, H.; Jouventin, P. 1998. Changes in population sizes and demographic parameters of six albatross species breeding on the French sub-antarctic islands. In: Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (ed.), Albatross biology and conservation , pp. 84-91. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia.

Weimerskirch. 1998. Foraging strategies of Indian Ocean albatrosses and their relationship with fisheries. In: Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (ed.), Albatross biology and conservation , pp. 137-167. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney.

Xavier, J. C.; Trathan, P. N.; Croxall, J. P.; Wood, A. G.; Podesta, G.; Rodhouse, P. G. 2004. Foraging ecology and interactions with fisheries of Wandering Albatrosses ( Diomeda exulans ) breeding at South Georgia. Fisheries Oceanography 13: 324-344.

Additional information is available on the distribution of the Wandering Albatross from the Global Procellariiform Tracking Database (http://www.seabirdtracking.org)

Australian Govt - Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 - Recovery Outline

Search for photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Macaulay Library

IUCN Red List evaluators Westrip, J.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums .

Wandering Albatross

These remarkably efficient gliders, named after the Greek hero Diomedes, have the largest wingspan of any bird on the planet

Region: Antarctica

Destinations: Bouvet Island, Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia

Name : Wandering Albatross, Snowy Albatross, White-winged Albatross ( Diomedea exulans )

Length: Up to 135 cm.

Weight : 6 to 12kg.

Location : All oceans except in the North Atlantic.

Conservation status : Vulnerable.

Diet : Cephalopods, small fish, crustaceans.

Appearance : White with grey-black wings, hooked bill.

How do Wandering Albatrosses feed?

Wandering Albatrosses make shallow dives when hunting. They’ll also attempt to eat almost anything they come across and will follow ships in the hopes of feeding on its garbage. They can gorge themselves so much that they become unable to fly and just have to float on the water.

How fast do Wandering Albatrosses fly?

Wandering Albatrosses can fly up to 40 km per hour.

What are Wandering Albatross mating rituals like?

Wandering Albatrosses mature sexually around 11 years of age. When courting, the male Wandering Albatross will spread his wings, wave his head around, and rap his bills against that of the female while making a braying noise. The pair will mate for life, breeding every 2 years. Mating season starts in early November with the Albatrosses creating nests of mud and grass on one of the Sub-Antarctic islands. The female will lay 1 egg about 10 cm long, sometime between the middle of December and early January. Incubation takes around 11 weeks, the parents taking turns. Once the chick is born the adults switch off between hunting and staying to care for the chick. The hunting parent returns to regurgitate stomach oil for the chick to feed on. Eventually both parents will start to hunt at the same time, visiting with the chick at widening intervals.

How long do Wandering Albatrosses live?

Wandering Albatrosses can live for over 50 years.

How many Wandering Albatrosses are there today?

There are about 25.200 adult Wandering Albatrosses in the world today.

Do Wandering Albatrosses have any natural predators?

Because they’re so big and spend almost all of their lives in flight, Wandering Albatrosses have almost no natural predators.

7 Wonderful Wandering Albatross Facts

• The Wandering Albatross is the largest member of its genus ( Diomedea ) and is one of the largest birds in the world.
• Wandering Albatrosses are also one of the best known and most studied species of birds.
• Diomedea refers to Diomedes, a hero in Greek mythology; of all the Acheaens he and Ajax were 2 nd only to Achilles in prowess. In mythology all of his companions turned into birds. Exulans is Latin for “exile” or “wanderer.”
• Wandering Albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any bird in the world today, stretching up to 3.5 metres across.
• Wandering Albatrosses are great gliders – they can soar through the sky without flapping their wings for several hours at a time. They’re so efficient at flying that they can actually use up less energy in the air than they would while sitting in a nest.
• Wandering Albatrosses have a special gland above their nasal passage that excretes a high saline solution. This helps keep salt level in their body, combating all the salt water they take in.
• Wandering Albatrosses get whiter the older they get.  

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Wandering albatross | Toroa

Diomedea exulans linnaeus, 1758.

Order: Procellariiformes

Family: Diomedeidae

New Zealand status: Native

Conservation status: Migrant

Other names: snowy albatross

Geographical variation: Nil

Wandering albatross | Toroa. Adult in flight. South Georgia, February 2019. Image © Glenn Pure 2019 birdlifephotography.org.au by Glenn Pure

• Species Information
• Breeding and ecology

Wandering albatrosses are among the largest birds in the New Zealand marine area, surpassed only slightly by the southern royal albatross for size. Together, these are the largest of the great albatrosses, of which four species occur in New Zealand waters. The wandering albatross is most similar to the slightly smaller and darker Antipodean albatross, and the two are often lumped together as one species under the wandering albatross name. Here we use wandering albatross to refer only to the larger form that does not breed in the New Zealand region (other than a few pairs on Macquarie Island).

Great albatrosses have an impressive wingspan and slow gliding flight, which distinguishes them from other smaller groups (e.g. gulls and mollymawks). They are normally found offshore, but can be seen in southern New Zealand waters and northwards to Cook Strait, and in lower numbers further north. Care is needed to separate wandering and Antipodean albatrosses, as their plumage markings overlap almost completely. The most reliable distinguishing characteristics are the larger size, and especially the larger bill of the true wanderer.

Identification

The adult wandering albatross is a very large white bird with variable amounts of black on the enormous (3 m wingspan) wings and a pinkish-salmon coloured bill. Some adults have a pinkish stain behind the ears. The wandering albatross has numerous, graduated plumage phases, from chocolate brown juveniles with white faces and underwings through to mature males that are pure white apart from their black wing tips and trailing edge to the wing. At close range, even the whitest birds usually have fine dark vermiculations on their body feathers (not present in the royal albatrosses). Most wandering albatrosses (and Antipodean albatrosses) have upper wings that are either completely dark or have a large white patch in the centre of the inner wing that expands as the bird gets older. All but the whitest colour variations of wandering albatross are also seen in the Antipodean albatross, which is slightly smaller with a smaller bill, most apparent if the birds settle on the water together.

Voice: wandering albatrosses are mainly silent at sea. At breeding grounds they give a high-pitched trumpeting call, and also groans, rattles, and ‘puck’ sounds.

Similar species: the two royal albatross species are bulkier birds with a hunch-backed look in flight, and a fine dark cutting edge to the upper mandible (this can be difficult to see in flying birds). Royal albatrosses are much whiter birds, and (except for juvenile northern royal albatrosses) rarely have dark feathers anywhere other than the upperwings, which tend to whiten from the leading edge back, looking like the bird has flown through a bag of flour (cf. wandering and Antipodean albatrosses whitening from the centre of the wing outwards). Antipodean albatrosses (including Gibson’s albatross) never get as white as the whitest wandering albatrosses, and usually have at least a dark skull cap. Other than mature ‘snowy’ male wandering albatrosses, the two species can only be separated by size, with Antipodean albatross smaller with a shorter and less robust bill. Extra-limital Tristan albatross and Amsterdam albatross have the same plumage states as Antipodean albatross, though Amsterdam albatross has a dark cutting edge to the upper mandible.

Distribution and habitat

Wandering albatrosses breed on South Georgia and on Crozet, Kerguelen, Marion, Prince Edward, Heard and Macquarie Islands, and range throughout the Southern Ocean in latitudes from Antarctic to subtropical waters. Non-breeding birds from the Crozet Islands (and to a lesser extent other populations) frequent New Zealand waters. Non-breeding birds from the Crozet Islands (breeders in their sabbatical year, and pre-breeding birds) may spend extensive periods in the deep waters in both the Tasman Sea and the eastern waters of New Zealand from the subantarctic to latitudes around East Cape.

Wandering albatrosses breed outside of the New Zealand region, in the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans and at Macquarie Island south-west of New Zealand. A global population of c. 8050 breeds biannually.

Threats and conservation

Threats to wandering albatrosses at breeding sites are few, as they breed mainly on sites with few or no predators. Threats in the marine environment consist principally of fisheries interactions, with population decreases linked to fishing mortality, particularly in longline fisheries. Recent studies have shown strong life-history consequences of inter-decadal changes in wind patterns, with stronger winds in the southern latitudes leading to reduced effort required for foraging by breeding birds, and positive population consequences.

Breeding occurs only outside of New Zealand and begins in the Austral spring, continuing for 8-10 months, depending on the site. Wandering albatrosses breed as monogamous pairs no more than once every two years, and have long-term pair bonds. The single large egg is laid in December or early January and is incubated by the parents in alternating shifts for about 11 weeks, with most hatching in March. The chick takes another 7-9 months to fledge; as the full breeding cycle takes 10-12 months, the adults then take a sabbatical year to complete their moult before attempting to breed again. Immature birds return to colonies when 6-10 years old, and typically do not start breeding until 11-15 years old.

Behaviour and ecology

Wandering albatrosses are solitary at sea, though may feed in flocks in association with fishing vessels.

The wandering albatross is essentially a scavenger, feeding on squid (especially) and marine fishes, and mainly within a few metres of the surface. Most prey is captured by surface seizing.

BirdLife factsheet

Do albatrosses have personalities?  Te Papa Channel

ACAP 2012. Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. ACAP Species assessment: wandering albatross Diomedea exulans .

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J (eds) 1992. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 1, ostrich to ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Marchant, S.; Higgins, P.J. (eds) 1990 . Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds . Vol.1, ratites to ducks. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Onley, D.; Scofield, P. 2007. Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters of the world . Helm Field Guide, Princeton University Press.

Rolland, V.; Weimerskirch, H.; Barbraud, C. 2010. Relative influence of fisheries and climate on the demography of four albatross species . Global Change Biology 16 : 1910-1922

Tuck, G.; Polacheck, T.; Croxall, J.P.; Weimerskirch, H. 2001. Modelling the impact of fisheries by-catches on albatross populations . Journal of Applied Ecology 38 : 1182-1196.

Weimerskirch, H.; Brothers, N.; Jouventin, P. 1997. Population dynamics of wandering albatross Diomedea exulans and Amsterdam albatross D . amsterdamensis in the Indian Ocean and their relationships with long-line fisheries: conservation implications . Biological Conservation 79 : 257-270.

Recommended citation

Waugh, S.M. 2013 [updated 2022]. Wandering albatross | Toroa. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online . www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz

Length: 120 cm

Weight: 8 - 10 kg

Similar species: Antipodean albatross | Toroa , Southern royal albatross | Toroa , Northern royal albatross | Toroa

A very large white albatross with variable amounts of black on the wings, fine dark vermiculations on body feathers, very large pinkish-salmon bill, and in some adults a pinkish stain behind the ears. There are many graduated plumage phases from chocolate brown juveniles with white faces and underwings to pure white mature males with black wing tips and trailing edge to the wing.

  Calls from pair at nest, with bill clapping

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January 12, 2024

How Does the World’s Largest Seabird Know Where to Fly?

Wandering albatrosses navigate thousands of miles using “the voice of the sea.”

By Joseph Polidoro

A pair of wandering albatrosses.

Getty Images/Imazins

Joseph Polidoro: Imagine for a moment that you’re a very hungry bird soaring over 30-foot ocean swells in high winds, with no land for thousands of miles.

How do you know where you’re going?

If you’re a wandering albatross, you listen . 

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[CLIP: Music]

According to a new finding in October’s Proceedings of the National Association of Sciences USA, this seabird navigates using sounds below our thresholds for hearing .

For Science, Quickly, I’m Joseph Polidoro.

The wandering albatross thrives in the circumpolar band of ocean north of Antarctica—a windswept region that the world’s best sailors say has the most inhospitable seas on the planet.

On the Southern Ocean’s islands where they nest and brood, one wandering albatross parent tends the nest while its partner takes to the sea, traveling as much as 10,000 kilometers as it forages for scattered prey. The bird must eat enough to fuel its turn on the nest, which can be a long time ...

Samantha Patrick: Birds might go for, perhaps, a minimum of four or five days, up to 30 days.

Polidoro: Samantha Patrick is a marine ecologist at the University of Liverpool in England and a co-author of the study.

Wandering albatrosses actually gain weight on these long trips because they’re extremely efficient flyers.

Sophie de Grissac: It almost never beats its wings. It’s quite fascinating to see them flying in the winds. When they’re flying, their heartbeat is the same as when they’re resting.

Polidoro: That’s Sophie de Grissac , an ornithologist and a researcher at the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris, who wasn’t involved in the study.

With their long wingspan—the longest of any bird, maxing out at nearly 12 feet—wandering albatrosses use wind, air pressure gradients, and gravity above the swells and waves to soar for thousands of miles, reaching top speeds of 45 miles an hour .

Basically, wandering albatrosses don’t fly. They soar.

De Grissac: The more distance you cover, the more you may find food.

Polidoro: The wandering albatross’s keen senses of sight and smell help it locate prey. But these senses are good for about 100 kilometers—a distance the bird can travel in as little as an hour and a half. So how does the albatross know where to soar toward?

Patrick: There does seem to be this large gap in information that they’re able to access.

Polidoro: A clue came in a chance encounter on the way to the Crozet Islands, part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, where Patrick was headed to study albatrosses.

Patrick: On the same vessel were some researchers from the [United Nations]. They were going to work with the hydrophone station that’s used to monitor nuclear tests. It also gathers infrasound data. And we came up with the question of whether seabirds could use infrasound. And it was clear that no one had really thought about this before, and that’s where the idea for the project came from.

Polidoro: Infrasound is any sound below 20 hertz, where human hearing starts to drop off. At the very low end of the infrasound spectrum are microbaroms—very low-frequency sounds between 0.1 and 0.6 Hz that are detectable across thousands of miles.

Natasha Gillies: Microbaroms are generated by the collision of ocean waves. 

Polidoro: Natasha Gillies is a seabird ecologist at the University of Liverpool and a co-author of the study.

The constant hum of microbarom infrasound is called “the voice of the sea.” It’s present everywhere, all the time. But it’s unevenly distributed.

Gillies: Where you have more energy in the ocean system because you have wavier areas or windy areas, then you get louder microbarom regions.

Polidoro: Ideal soaring conditions for wandering albatrosses.

Patrick: But it also gives them information about standing ocean waves, and this is often caused by things like storms. So it would enable birds to try and gauge where storms are, potentially. So this might be be cause they want to move toward windier areas that could be optimal, or they might want to move away from windy areas if they’re too strong, and they want to try and avoid storms.

Polidoro: Directly testing this apex predator’s hearing is not an option. So Natasha and her colleagues arrived at a creative experimental solution: Get a large enough sample of wandering albatross flight paths. Then, using wind and infrasound data, create a sound map of the total flight area—a map of microbaroms across space and time. Send out another set of albatrosses equipped with sensors to field check the sound map. Finally, overlay the birds’ flight paths on the sound map.

Gillies: So essentially what we can get is: if you put an albatross at point X in space and on this day in time, what infrasound would it be likely to hear and experience? 

Patrick: We didn’t have an expectation at the beginning that they would move toward louder or quieter areas.

Polidoro: What the team found is that wandering albatrosses aren’t exactly wandering. Instead they seem to use microbaroms to head toward ideal wind conditions.

Ventura: Looking at the soundscape and how the birds move, you know, almost following this wave of sound, I found that beautiful.

My name is Francesco Ventura , and I’m a postdoc at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Polidoro: He wasn’t involved in the study either.

Ventura: It’s another world–that’s the thing. It’s something that we cannot fully understand, I think; we are humans and we just cannot even imagine how that would work for us. But it seems to be working fine for them because they have been doing it for a long time. 

They seem to be [reading] what’s going on and kind of orienting toward that. You know that is something that is…it’s SciFi.

Gillies: We know that there is something about infrasound that they want to move toward, that they like, that is beneficial to them in some way.

Ventura: It was kind of a badly needed paper at this point because it sheds some new light into a fundamental question that is at the core of a lot of marine megafauna research in general but also at the core of seabird research, which is: “How do they manage to find food in such a vast area?”

Polidoro: This reliance on infrasound may actually extend to other species, too.

Gillies: Most seabirds are highly dependent on wind for movement. It seems to be involved in animal behavior in a lot of contexts, in a lot of different species.

Polidoro: They include whales, elephants, pigeons and peacocks.

Gillies: So I would be very surprised if this was in any way unique to wandering albatrosses.

De Grissac: So albatrosses have had a very long time to evolve ways of feeling the environment—lots of ways they can perceive what’s around them. And I think because they really need this condition, this stormy conditions, these winds, it makes perfect sense that it would have evolved more than one way of finding them.

Gillies: I think it’s a really nice reminder of the different sources of information animals might be using—especially in this sort of environment that is so featureless—and how animals can still extract so much information and context out of that despite there seemingly not being much there.

De Grissac: Evolution in animals is almost always very surprising. When you study the evolution of the animal closely, you find remarkable things, remarkable inventions.

Polidoro: Science, Quickly is produced by Tulika Bose and Jeff DelViscio. Our music is composed by Dominic Smith.

Subscribe to Science, Quickly wherever you get your podcasts. If you like the show, give us a rating or review.

Albatrosses

An albatross aloft can be a spectacular sight. These feathered giants have the longest wingspan of any bird—up to 11 feet! The wandering albatross is the biggest of some two dozen different species. Albatrosses use their formidable wingspans to ride the ocean winds and sometimes to glide for hours without rest or even a flap of their wings. They also float on the sea's surface, though the position makes them vulnerable to aquatic predators. Albatrosses drink salt water, as do some other sea birds.

These long-lived birds have reached a documented 50 years of age. They are rarely seen on land and gather only to breed, at which time they form large colonies on remote islands. Mating pairs produce a single egg and take turns caring for it. Young albatrosses may fly within three to ten months, depending on the species, but then leave the land behind for some five to ten years until they themselves reach sexual maturity. Some species appear to mate for life.

Albatrosses feed primarily on squid or schooling fish, but are familiar to mariners because they sometimes follow ships in hopes of dining on handouts or garbage. Albatrosses have a special place in maritime lore and superstition, most memorably evoked in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner .

Relationship with Humans

Some albatross species were heavily hunted for feathers that were used as down and in the manufacture of women's hats. The Laysan albatross was important to the indigenous hunters of the northern seas. Excavations of Aleut and Eskimo settlements reveal many albatross bones and suggest that the birds were an important part of human diet in the region.

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Endangered Wandering Albatross Catches Prey Differently Than Previously Thought

An international team of scientists has overturned an ecological study on how some animals search for food. Previously it was believed that wandering albatrosses and other species forage using a Lévy flight strategy - a cluster of short moves connected by infrequent longer ones. Published this week in the journal Nature, the team discovered that further analyses and new data tell a different story for the albatrosses and possibly for other species too.

Biologists and physicists identified 'Lévy flights', named after the French mathematician Paul Lévy, as an efficient way for animals to search for sparse food. They have been attributed to a wide range of organisms, including zooplankton, grey seals, spider monkeys and even Peruvian fisherman.

The first attempt to demonstrate their existence in a natural biological system suggested that wandering albatrosses perform Lévy flights when searching for prey on the ocean surface - a finding followed by similar inferences about the search strategies of deer and bumblebees. However, this research shows this is not the case.

Based on new high-resolution data collected from loggers attached to the legs of wandering albatrosses on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, the team show that the previous claims about the Lévy flight behaviour were unfounded. They also re-analysed the existing data sets for deer and bumblebees using new statistical methods, again finding that none exhibits evidence of Lévy flights.

"It now seems the albatrosses come across food at simpler random intervals", says lead author Dr Andrew Edwards from British Antarctic Survey (now at Fisheries and Oceans Canada). "Our work also questions whether other animals thought to exhibit Lévy flights really do all forage in the same way."

This research improves scientists' understanding of the foraging behaviour of the wandering albatross -- an endangered species. It may also help develop a new theory for how animals forage -- an essential piece in the wider ecological jigsaw puzzle.

Lévy flight

A Lévy flight is named after the French mathematician Paul Pierre Lévy and is a type of random walk in which increments are distributed according to a probability distribution with a heavy power law tail.

Wandering albatross

The wandering albatrosses inhabit Bird Island, a 5km-long rocky island off South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean. With no food to be found on the island, the birds undertake long foraging trips, flying close to the ocean surface to spot and feed on squid. Loggers attached to the birds' legs tell ecologists how often the birds land on the water to feed.

Estimates suggest that 300,000 seabirds are killed annually in the world's long-line fisheries, many of which are albatrosses. Since 2001, by-catch rates in well-regulated fisheries have decreased substantially, remained stable in less well-regulated ones and probably increased in pirate fisheries, for which no real data exist. 19 of the 21 species of albatross are threatened with extinction.

Reference: Revisiting Lévy flight search patterns of wandering albatrosses, bumblebees and deer by Andrew M. Edwards, Richard A. Phillips, Nicholas W. Watkins, Mervyn P. Freeman, Eugene J. Murphy, Vsevolod Afanasyev, Sergey V. Buldyrev, M.G.E da Luz, E. P. Raposo, H. Eugene Stanley, Gandhi M. Viswanathan is published in the journal Nature on Thursday 25 October 2007.

Organisations involved in this research: British Antarctic Survey, Boston University (US), Yeshiva University (US), Universidade Federal do Parana (Brazil), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Brazil), Universidade Federal de Alagoas (Brazil).

• New Species
• Endangered Animals
• Wild Animals
• Great albatross
• Short-tailed Albatross
• Jane Goodall
• Unified neutral theory of biodiversity
• Endangered species

Story Source:

Materials provided by British Antarctic Survey . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Strange & offbeat.

Woods Hole, Mass. — Wandering albatrosses, which are an iconic sight in the Southern Ocean, are highly adapted to long-distance soaring flight. Their wingspan of up to 11 feet is the largest known of any living bird, and yet wandering albatrosses fly while hardly flapping their wings. Instead, they depend on dynamic soaring—which exploits wind shear near the ocean surface to gain energy—in addition to updrafts and turbulence.

Now researchers, including Philip Richardson , a senior scientist emeritus in Physical Oceanography Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), are unlocking more clues about exactly how wandering albatrosses are such amazing flyers.

In a new paper analyzing GPS tracks of wandering albatrosses, researchers have found that the birds’ airspeed increases with wind speed up to a maximum airspeed of 20 meters per second (m/s; 45 mph). Researchers developed a model of dynamic soaring, which predicts that the birds could fly much faster than 20 m/s. The paper concludes that the birds limit their airspeed by adjusting the turns in their trajectories to be around 60°, and that in low winds the birds exploit updrafts over waves to supplement dynamic soaring.

“We hypothesize that wandering albatrosses limit their maximum across-wind airspeeds to ~ 20 m/s in higher wind speeds (and greater wind turbulence), probably to keep the aerodynamic force on their wings during dynamic soaring well below the mechanically-tolerable limits of wing strength,” according to the paper, “Observations and Models of Across-wind Flight Speed of the Wandering Albatross,” published in the journal Royal Society Open Science .

The paper adds that, given the complex field of wind waves and swell waves often present in the Southern Ocean, “it is also possible that birds find it increasingly difficult to coordinate dynamic soaring maneuvers at faster speeds.”

Regarding low flight speeds by albatrosses, the paper notes that a theoretical model predicted that the minimum wind speed necessary to support dynamic soaring is greater than 3 m/s. “Despite this, tracked albatrosses were observed in flight at wind speeds as low as 2 m/s. We hypothesize at these very low wind speeds, wandering albatrosses fly by obtaining additional energy from updrafts over water waves,” according to the paper.

“We tried to figure out how these birds are using the winds to go long distances—without overstressing their wings—for foraging for food and returning to feed their chicks. To do that, we modeled dynamic soaring and what different turn angles would do to stress on the birds’ wings and speed over the water,” said journal paper co-author Richardson. A dynamic soaring trajectory is an s-shaped maneuver consisting of a series of connected turns, he noted.

“This research is a step in the direction of understanding how wandering albatrosses are able to do these foraging trips and maintain a fairly large population. These birds figured out an amazing way to use the wind to almost effortlessly soar for thousands of miles over the ocean. We wanted to find out exactly how they did it,” he said.

In addition to learning more about albatrosses, the study could have broader implications for helping researchers better understand how to use dynamic soaring to power potential albatross-type gliders to observe ocean conditions, Richardson added.

Trajectories of breeding wandering albatrosses nesting on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic. These birds are highly adapted to long-distance soaring flight assisted by a wingspan of up to 11 feet--the largest known of any living bird. They use the winds to soar thousands of miles seeking food to bring back to nourish their chicks. (Map by Natalie Renier, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

For the study, researchers used GPS to track 46 wandering albatrosses during foraging trips the birds made between February to September 2004. The birds were breeding on Bird Island, which is off the northwest tip of South Georgia in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Wandering albatrosses lack sufficient musculature to sustain continuous flapping flight for long periods of time; however they have a shoulder lock that mechanically holds their wings outstretched so that little energy is expended while soaring, according to the paper.

Since the earliest days of scientific inquiry, the way that many birds are able soar—that is, fly without flapping their wings—has fascinated and perplexed observers, said paper co-author Ewan D. Wakefield , affiliate researcher at the University of Glasgow and postdoctoral research associate at the University of Durham, UK.  Wandering albatrosses are particularly remarkable for their ability to soar over the surface of the sea for long periods, covering vast distances, Wakefield said. He added that the physical principles explaining dynamic soaring flight were established over a century ago: Basically, albatrosses swoop up and down between layers of fast and slow moving air near the surface of the sea, gaining airspeed each time they do so.

“However, as our study shows, real-world albatross flight differs considerably from the predictions of simple physical models,” Wakefield said. “On the one hand, our GPS-tracking data show that they can and do fly in lighter winds than dynamic soaring models say should be possible. We suspect that this is because they can also fly by surfing updrafts created by the large waves that constantly surge around their Southern Ocean home. On the other hand, the upper limit of albatrosses' airspeed that we measured is much slower than physics predicts. We think that this is because albatrosses need to keep the forces on their wings within tolerable limits. After all, they're made from bone and muscle, not aluminum and titanium. Our study therefore points to ways in which theoretical models need to be refined to capture more faithfully the amazing complexity and beauty of albatross flight.”

Richardson recalled being entranced by wandering albatrosses ever since he observed them during a 1997 oceanographic cruise in the South Atlantic Ocean. “We were steaming upwind at 15 knots, pounding into waves, and these albatrosses caught up to us from astern and were cruising around and having a grand old time,” Richardson said. “I sat there for hours watching these birds in amazement, and wondering how they could fly like that. Now we are learning more about how they do it.”

Funding for this research was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution emeritus fund and the UK Natural Environment Research Council.

Authors: Philip L. Richardson 1 and Ewan D. Wakefield 2

Affiliations:

1 Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

2 Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

About Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate an understanding of the ocean’s role in the changing global environment. WHOI’s pioneering discoveries stem from an ideal combination of science and engineering—one that has made it one of the most trusted and technically advanced leaders in basic and applied ocean research and exploration anywhere. WHOI is known for its multidisciplinary approach, superior ship operations, and unparalleled deep-sea robotics capabilities. We play a leading role in ocean observation and operate the most extensive suite of data-gathering platforms in the world. Top scientists, engineers, and students collaborate on more than 800 concurrent projects worldwide—both above and below the waves—pushing the boundaries of knowledge and possibility. For more information, please visit www.whoi.edu

Key takeaways:

• By analyzing GPS tracks of wandering albatrosses, researchers have found that the birds’ airspeed increases with wind speed up to a maximum of 20 meters per second (45 miles per hour).
• Researchers developed a model of dynamic soaring, which predicts that the birds could fly much faster than 20 meters per second (m/s). However, researchers hypothesize that the birds limit their maximum across-wind airspeeds to about 20 m/s in higher wind speeds (and greater wind turbulence), probably to keep the aerodynamic force on their wings during dynamic soaring well below the mechanically-tolerable limits of wing strength.
• The paper concludes that the birds limit airspeed by adjusting the turns in their trajectories to be around 60° and that in low winds the birds exploit updrafts over waves to supplement dynamic soaring.
• Although a theoretical model predicted that the minimum wind speed necessary to support dynamic soaring is greater than 3 meters per second (m/s), GPS-tracked albatrosses were observed in flight at wind speeds as low as 2 m/s. Researchers hypothesize at these very low wind speeds, wandering albatrosses fly by obtaining additional energy from updrafts over water waves.
• The study points to ways in which theoretical models need to be refined to capture more faithfully the amazing complexity and beauty of albatross flight.

Animal Cyclopedia

Wandering Albatross Size, Height, Weight, Habitat, Lifespan, Feed And Images

• By MR Animal Lover
• On March 17, 2024

This Article Has

Are you seeking in-depth details regarding the magnificent wandering albatross? There’s nowhere else to look! This article explores every aspect of these intriguing seabirds, including their size, height, weight, habitat, lifespan, and feeding habits. It also includes eye-catching photos to enhance your learning.

Nestled among the wide expanses of the southern oceans , the wandering albatross is a magnificent species with an impressive wingspan and exquisite flight.

These seabirds, famous for their ability to fly silently for hours, are particularly beloved by scientists and environment lovers. The wandering albatross captures the attention of everyone it comes into contact with, both with its distinctive physical characteristics and their unusual actions.

In this article, we provide in-depth information on the size, preferred habitats, feeding habits, and many other facets of the life of the wandering albatross.

This thorough guide tries to satiate your curiosity and offer insightful information about the fascinating world of the wandering albatross, whether you’re a budding ornithologist seeking knowledge or fascinated by the wonders of nature.

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Wandering Albatross Origin And History

The Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) is a magnificent seabird known for its large wingspan, long-distance flying, and beautiful gliding ability. Here is a detailed discussion of its genesis and history:

Origin : The wandering albatross is part of the Diomedeidae family, including numerous other huge seabird species. It originated in the Southern Hemisphere, where it lives largely in the open ocean and on remote islands.

It is most widespread in the Southern Ocean, which extends from Antarctica to the subtropics.

Evolutionary History : Albatrosses are among the oldest seabirds, with fossil evidence dating back 50 million years.

Their evolutionary history is entwined with the shifting landscapes of the world’s oceans, as they have adapted to varied environmental circumstances over millions of years.

Discovery and Naming : The wandering albatross was first documented during the Age of Exploration when European sailors ventured into the southern seas.

It was named “wandering” due to its habit of soaring vast distances across the open ocean. In the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus gave the species its scientific name, Diomedea exulans.

Cultural Significance : Wandering albatrosses first arose during the Age of Exploration, when European sailors explored the southern waters.

It was called “wandering” because it frequently flew long distances across the open ocean. In the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus gave the species its scientific name, Diomedea exulans.

Conservation Status : Despite their extraordinary adaptations for life at sea, wandering albatross populations are under constant threat in the contemporary period. These include habitat degradation, overfishing of their target species, pollution, and accidental bycatch in fisheries.

As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the wandering albatross as vulnerable, emphasizing the critical need for conservation measures to safeguard this iconic seabird.

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Wandering Albatross Size

These extraordinary physical traits make the wandering albatross one of the most unique avian species, perfectly suited to live in the open ocean.

Its wide wingspan and superb flying powers enable it to travel long distances while looking for food and navigating the windswept plains of the Southern Ocean.

The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is known for its massive size, notably its wingspan, which ranks among the largest bird species. Here are a few crucial measurements:

Wingspan:  The wandering albatross boasts one of the largest wingspans of any bird, ranging from approximately 2.5 to 3.5 meters (8 to 11.5 feet).

This vast wingspan enables the bird to soar effortlessly over enormous distances across the open ocean, utilizing air currents to glide for extended periods without flapping its wings.

Body Length:  Besides its remarkable wingspan, the wandering albatross has a substantial body size. On average, adults measure around 1.1 to 1.35 meters (3.6 to 4.4 feet) from beak to tail.

Weight:  Despite its large size, the wandering albatross is relatively lightweight in terms of its dimensions. Adults typically weigh between 5 to 12 kilograms (11 to 26 pounds), with males generally being larger and heavier than females.

Wandering Albatross Height

The wandering albatross’s height typically refers to its standing height when on land, measured from the ground to the top of its head or back. While specific measurements may vary slightly among individuals, the standing height of an adult wandering albatross is generally around 1 to 1.2 meters (3.3 to 3.9 feet).

It is crucial to highlight that the wandering albatross spends most of its time at sea and is best known for its soaring flights rather than standing erect on land. When they come ashore to procreate or rest, their height may be measured, giving us a sense of their physical size.

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Wandering Albatross Weight

The wandering albatross, also known as Diomedea exulans, typically weighs between 5 to 12 kilograms (11 to 26 pounds). This weight range can vary slightly depending on age, sex, and individual variation within the species.

Male wandering albatrosses tend to be larger and heavier than females, with some males reaching the upper end of the weight range. Juveniles and subadults may have lighter weights compared to fully mature adults.

Wandering albatrosses have adapted to their surroundings despite their size. Thanks to their lightweight bodies, they can fly across the open ocean over great distances efficiently.

Wandering Albatross Habitat

The wandering albatross lives largely in the Southern Hemisphere, on huge open oceans and lonely islands. Its habitat spans the Southern Ocean, from Antarctica to subtropical regions.

These majestic seabirds spend most of their lives at sea, often foraging thousands of kilometers from land. They are perfectly suited to life in the open ocean, relying on strong winds and currents to glide smoothly across great distances.

During the breeding season, wandering albatrosses return to select Southern Ocean islands to mate and raise their young. They seek islands with ideal nesting locations, such as grassy slopes or tussock-covered terrain, where they may build nests and raise their chicks safely away from predators.

Wandering albatrosses may also visit locations with upwelling or nutrient-rich waters, where prey species are plentiful. These birds are well-known for their long-distance flights and extended-ranging habits, which allow them to search for food across enormous oceans.

Wandering Albatross Lifespan

Individual wandering albatrosses can live for several decades, a noteworthy characteristic of this species. In the wild, wandering albatrosses typically live between thirty and forty years. Some have been known to live considerably longer than others, though; the oldest recorded wandering albatross is said to have been around 60 years old.

Their comparatively modest reproduction rate, which enables them to devote more time and energy to self-maintenance and survival, is one of the reasons for their longer lifespans. Also, because they have plenty of food sources and fewer natural predators to deal with, wandering albatrosses are ideally suited to living at sea.

Even though they can live for a very long time, wandering albatrosses suffer some problems in the wild, including pollution, habitat degradation, overfishing of their prey, and accidental bycatch in fisheries. Conservation activities are essential to secure these famous seabirds’ long-term survival and safeguard their Southern Ocean habitats.

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Wandering Albatross Feed

The majority of wandering albatrosses are seabirds that feed on meat. Fish, squid, and other marine creatures comprise most of their diet. They have evolved to forage across wide stretches of open water, utilizing their acute sense of smell to locate prey at a great distance.

Some of the common prey species that wandering albatrosses feed on include:

• Fish: They often target species such as lanternfish, flying fish, and various species of cod, hake, and herring.
• Squid: Squid make up a significant portion of the wandering albatross’s diet and are skilled at capturing these cephalopods using their sharp beaks.
• Crustaceans: Wandering albatrosses may occasionally consume crustaceans such as krill and shrimp, especially in areas where these organisms are abundant.

As opportunistic feeders, wandering albatrosses’ diets can change based on several variables, including location, the time of year when prey is available, and personal preferences for foraging. With their enormous wingspan and adept gliding skills, they can travel great distances in pursuit of food, staying aloft for prolonged periods without requiring much energy.

The wandering albatross’s amazing traits and behaviors make it a captivating seabird that captures people’s attention. This species epitomizes the glories of Southern Hemisphere nature, from its enormous size and wingspan to its distinct ecological preferences and lengthy longevity.

This extensive page explores every facet of the wandering albatross, detailing its dimensions, weight, height, habitat, life expectancy, and food preferences. Our investigation of these amazing birds, accompanied by engrossing photos, seeks to satiate curiosity and expand our comprehension of their intriguing world.

We hope this article has helped you understand the significance and beauty of the wandering albatross, whether you’re an aspiring ornithologist, an animal lover, or just interested in nature’s wonders. I hope it evokes wonder and admiration for these magnificent seabirds and their fragile environments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the wingspan of a wandering albatross.

A wandering albatross is one of the largest bird species, with a wingspan that usually varies from 2.5 to 3.5 meters (8 to 11.5 feet).

Where do wandering albatrosses live?

Wandering albatrosses are predominantly found in the Southern Hemisphere, inhabiting the vast open ocean and remote islands of the Southern Ocean, from Antarctica to subtropical regions.

What do wandering albatrosses eat?

Wandering albatrosses are carnivorous seabirds that primarily feed on fish, squid, and other marine organisms. They are adept at foraging over wide expanses of open ocean, using their keen sense of smell to locate prey.

How long do wandering albatrosses live?

Wandering albatrosses have remarkable longevity, with individuals capable of living for several decades. On average, they live 30 to 40 years in the wild, although some have been known to live much longer.

Why are wandering albatrosses considered vulnerable?

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