Albatrosses | Diomedeidae

Albatrossen | Albatros

Around twenty-two species in four genera. The family lives mainly in the southern oceans, with a few species in the North Pacific. The great albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any living bird, over three metres. The wings are long and narrow. A tendon in the shoulder joint holds them fully extended without muscular effort. This lets albatrosses glide for hours without flapping. They use the difference in wind speed between the air just above the waves and the air higher up, and can cover thousands of kilometres on a single foraging trip. Like all tubenoses they have tubular nostrils, which in albatrosses form two separate tubes on either side of the bill. Their keen sense of smell lets them find food over long distances. Salt glands above the eyes get rid of excess salt. They feed mainly on squid, fish, krill and carrion, taken at the surface and often at night. Pairs usually stay together for life. Before breeding, young birds spend years performing elaborate dances with bill-clapping, spread wings and loud calls with the bill pointed skyward. The first breeding attempt often comes only at five to fifteen years of age. They lay a single egg, on a mound of mud and plants or on a ledge, in colonies on remote sub-Antarctic islands. In the largest species one breeding cycle takes almost a year, so after a successful attempt they skip a year. Albatrosses can live for more than sixty years. This is one of the most threatened bird families in the world: most species are at risk, mainly because they drown in longline and trawl fisheries.