[15] The extent of colouration varies: the southern royal albatross is almost completely white except for the ends and trailing edges of the wings in fully mature males, while the Amsterdam albatross has an almost juvenile-like breeding plumage with a great deal of brown, particularly a strong brown band around the chest. Albatross parents take turns foraging hundreds of miles at sea to find the best food for their offspring. Recently, Laysan albatrosses have been spotted actively pursuing sunfishes from whose skin they later plucked some crustacean hitchhikers. The source of these dead squid is a matter of debate; some certainly comes from squid fisheries, but in nature it primarily comes from the die-off that occurs after squid spawning and the vomit of squid-eating whales (sperm whales, pilot whales and southern bottlenose whales). [46] In Hawaiian mythology, Laysan albatrosses are considered aumakua, being a sacred manifestation of the ancestors, and quite possibly also the sacred bird of Kāne. It is impossible to digest and takes up space in the stomach or gizzard that should be used for food, or can cause an obstruction that starves the bird directly. †Plotornis These genera are the great albatrosses (Diomedea), the mollymawks (Thalassarche), the North Pacific albatrosses (Phoebastria), and the sooty albatrosses or sooties (Phoebetria). In the Southern Hemisphere, the name mollymawk is still well established in some areas, which is a corrupted form of malle-mugge, an old Dutch name for the northern fulmar. Techniques such as setting longline bait at night, dyeing the bait blue, setting the bait underwater, increasing the amount of weight on lines, and using bird scarers can all reduce the seabird bycatch. The wandering albatross is the biggest of some two dozen different species. This tendency is so strong that a study of Laysan albatrosses showed that the average distance between hatching site and the site where a bird established its own territory was 22 m (72 ft). Albatrosses are threatened by introduced species, such as rats and feral cats that attack eggs, chicks, and nesting adults; by pollution; by a serious decline in fish stocks in many regions largely due to overfishing; and by longline fishing. [20], This efficient long-distance travelling underlies the albatross's success as a long-distance forager, covering great distances and expending little energy looking for patchily distributed food sources. In the 19th century, albatross colonies, particularly those in the North Pacific, were harvested for the feather trade, leading to the near-extinction of the short-tailed albatross. Even species as small as mice can be detrimental; on Gough Island, the chicks of Tristan albatrosses are attacked and eaten alive by introduced house mice. The bill is large, strong, and sharp-edged, with the upper mandible terminating in a large hook. Then they’ll shift and dip back down towards the ocean, catching another skyward draft moments later. On long trips, the big birds spend half of their time facing the wind and using it to fly upward. Others fish in protected areas. 105–109 in, Carboneras, C. (1992) "Family Diomedeidae (Albatross)" in, Hor Osterlund, Holy Mōlī: Albatross and Other Ancestors, Oregon State University Press, Auman, H.J., Ludwig, J.P., Giesy, J.P., Colborn, T., (1997), Seabird breeding behavior § Mating dances, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification – Family Diomedeidae", "Evolutionary relationships among extant albatrosses (Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae) established from complete cytochrome-b gene sequences", "Global population structure and taxonomy of the wandering albatross species complex", "Analysis of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Procellariiformes based on complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene", "Major analytical and conceptual shortcomings in a recent taxonomic revision of the Procellariiformes – A reply to Penhallurick and Wink (2004)", "Oligocene and Miocene albatross fossils from Washington State (USA) and the evolutionary history of North Pacific Diomedeidae", "Probable extirpation of a breeding colony of Short-tailed Albatross (, "Olfaction in Subantarctic seabirds: Its phylogenetic and ecological significance", "The flight of petrels and albatrosses (Procellariiformes), observed in South Georgia and its vicinity", "Fast and fuel efficient? [15], The dynamic soaring of albatrosses is inspiring to airplane designers: German aerospace engineer Johannes Traugott and colleagues have charted the albatross's nuanced flight pattern and are looking for ways to apply this to aircraft, especially in the area of drones and unmanned aircraft. The waved albatross, though, makes no nest and even moves its egg around the pair's territory, as much as 50 m (160 ft), sometimes causing it to lose the egg. The wandering albatross flies up to 6,250 miles to gather food for its chick and it is estimated that a 50 year old albatross has flown at least 3.7 million miles over its lifetime! [59] Conservationists have also worked on the field of island restoration, removing introduced species that threaten native wildlife, which protects albatrosses from introduced predators. They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. The Wandering albatross has a wingspan that measures up to 11 feet 4 inches from end to end. †Diomedavus She is the oldest confirmed wild bird and the oldest banded bird in the world.[32][33]. Albatrosses are amazing sea birds that spend over 80% of their lives at sea, visiting land only for breeding. Scientists and conservationists (most importantly BirdLife International and their partners, who run the Save the Albatross campaign) are working with governments and fishermen to find solutions to the threats albatrosses face.

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