Albatrosses are truly birds of the sea; only when they nest do they come to land. Gliding on long, pointed wings, albatrosses ride the winds for hours and may travel several hundred miles a day. At night they rest on the surface of the sea, often feeding on squid and other small ocean animals during that time.
Of the fourteen species of albatrosses in the world, nine live entirely within the southern hemisphere. There they are found chiefly in the region between 300 and 60° south latitude where there are strong prevailing west winds. Albatrosses depend on winds not only to help them take off but also for sustained flight. On calm days these big birds are almost unable to take off and usually stay on the surface of the water.
Albatrosses have followed ships in southern waters since the early days of exploration in the seventeenth century. Sailors call the larger species gooney birds and the smaller ones mollymawks. Sometimes an albatross will accidentally land on the deck of a ship and for a time be unable to take flight. If it is approached by a man, it will disgorge a jet of yellow oil from its mouth, apparently in an attempt to defend itself. Most albatrosses nest on remote islands, usually in colonies. The males arrive first and begin occupying their territories. When the first females come, each is surrounded by several male birds. The males in turn, bow and spread their wings. After all have finished, the female selects her mate and goes off to the nesting site with him. Then disgorge a jet of yellow oil from its mouth, apparently in an attempt to defend itself.
Most albatrosses nest on remote islands, usually in colonies. The males arrive first and begin occupying their territories. When the first females come, each is surrounded by several male birds. The males in turn, bow and spread their wings. After all have finished, the female selects her mate and goes off to the nesting site with him. Then the paired birds begin their courtship displays, nibbling at each other’s feathers, throwing their heads up, stretching out their wings and occasionally braying.
Nests are used year after year although not by the same pairs. Some species build nests of mud and grasses on the ground. The male brings the material in his beak to the female and she arranges it into a small cone-shaped nest. Eventually she lays a single white egg which both parents take turns incubating for seventy to eighty days depending on the species. When the young albatross finally hatches, it is covered with down. It is fed by its father and mother for a long period; for example, young of the largest albatrosses stay in the nest for eight months. Only then are they fully feathered and able to fly.
Once the young birds leave the nest they spend their next few years on the ocean. When they are fully mature, they join the other breeding albatrosses on islands. The wandering albatross is the largest. It has an eleven-foot wing spread and is about four feet long. One of the most common albatrosses of the southern hemisphere is the blackbrowed albatross, which has a wing spread of seven and a half feet. These birds nest on many islands, including the Falkiands. Sealers and whalers used to raid their nests for eggs, as they did many other colonies of nesting albatrosses. Most albatrosses are grey and white or black and white, but two species, the sooty and light-mantled sooty, are brownish-grey. The sooties do not nest in colonies but in pairs in hidden spots on cliffs on subantarctic islands. The Laysan and the black-footed albatrosses nest on islands in the Pacific.
Albatrosses Pictures
