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1. Where does the name albatross come from? |
It is a corruption of the Spanish ‘alcatraz’, a name originally applied to frigate-birds and pelicans – the largest seabirds in the northern hemisphere. The Spanish name derives from the Arabic ‘alquadus’ which means ‘the bucket’. Frigate-birds and pelicans have large pouches under their beaks in which they were supposed to carry water – hence the connotation.
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2. Where does the name mollymawk come from? |
Mollymawk is the local Falkland name for the albatross. Mollymawk is from ‘mallemowk’, a Dutch sailors’ name for the northern fulmar petrel, a close relative of the albatrosses. It means ‘foolish gull’, most likely a reference to the readiness with which it and its southern cousins take a baited hook.
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3. Where is the Black-browed Albatross to be found? |
Two thirds of all black-browed albatrosses come to the Falkland Islands to breed. |
It roams all around the southern oceans between 25° and 60° and occasionally beyond. A famous albatross, Albert Ross, has lived in Scotland for 40 years – find out about him at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/6641021.stm
For information on the global distribution of albatrosses and petrels see:
http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/seabirds/tracking_ocean_wanderers.pdf (4.76Mb PDF) |
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4. What group of birds does it belong to? |
Albatrosses are the largest seabirds in the world. They belong to a group known as petrels, or ‘tubenoses’. They ‘drink’ sea-water and get rid of the salt in drips from the ‘tube-nose’. The black-browed albatross is the commonest albatross. The wandering albatross and royal albatross have the largest wingspan in nature at about 3.5 m (11 ft).
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5. How many species of albatrosses are there? |
There are 22 species of albatross. They are:
| CR = Critically Endangered | EN = Endangered | VU = Vulnerable | NT = Not Threatened |
| Amsterdam albatross | CR | Diomedea amsterdamensis | Southern Indian Ocean |
| Antipodean albatross | VU | Diomedea antipodensis | New Zealand |
| Atlantic yellow-nosed Albatross* | EN | Thalassarche chlororhynchos | S Atlantic, Tristan da Cunha |
| Black-browed albatross* | EN | Thalassarche melanophrys | Falklands, New Zealand, Chile, South Geogia, Crozet & Kerguelen Islands, Heard & Macdonald Islands, Macquarie Island (Australia) |
| Black-footed albatross | EN | Phoebastria nigripes | NW Hawaiian Island (USA), Japan |
| Bullers albatross* | VU | Thalassarche bulleri | New Zealand |
| Campbell albatross | VU | Thalassarche impavida | New Zealand (Campbell Is) |
| Chatham albatross | CR | Thalassarche eremita | New Zealand (Chatham Is) |
| Gibson’s albatross | VU | Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni | New Zealand |
| Grey-headed albatross* | VU | Thalassarche chrysostoma | New Zealand, Chile, South Georgia, Prince Edward & Marion Is (S Africa), Crozet & Kerguelen Is (France), Macquarie Is (Australia) |
| Indian Yellow-nosed albatross | EN | Thalassarche carteri | Prince Edward Is. (S Africa) and French Southern Territories |
| Laysan albatross | VU | Phoebastria immutabilis | North Pacific, Hawaii |
| Light-mantled sooty albatross* | NT | Phoebetria palpebrata | New Zealand |
| Northern Royal albatross* | EN | Diomedea sanfordi | New Zealand |
| Salvin's albatross | VU | Thalassarche salvini | New Zealand |
| Short-tailed albatross | VU | Phoebastria albatrus | Japan |
| Shy albatross* | NT | Thalassarche cauta | New Zealand and Australia |
| Sooty albatross* | EN | Phoebetria fusca | S Atlantic & Indian Oceans |
| Southern Royal albatross* | VU | Diomedea epomophora | New Zealand |
| Tristan albatross | EN | Diomedea dabbenena | Tristan da Cunha |
| Wandering albatross | VU | Diomedea exulans | South Georgia, Prince Edward & Marion Islands (S Africa), French S Territories, Macquarie Is (Australia) |
| Waved albatross | VU | Phoebastria irrorata | Ecuador |
* Has been recorded in the Falkland Islands, or in Falkland Island waters.
Only the Black-browed albatross breeds in the Islands.
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6. How do albatross fly such long distances? |
| All albatrosses have long, narrow wings and use the energy of the wind to help them fly. They are long distance gliding machines. They flap their wings infrequently, using the wind to propel them, often with much wheeling. Flight appears almost effortless. For dynamic soaring they will take advantage of the wind speed gradient in the 30-metre layer of air above the sea surface. They will often glide just above the sea surface along the flanks of waves. Adults have been recorded flying up to 550 miles per day at speeds of 50 mph, and in a single foraging flight they can cover an incredible 1800 to 9300 miles, a distance greater than the diameter of the earth. One Laysan albatross flew more than 24,843 miles in flights across the North Pacific to find food for its chick in just 90 days.
Because albatrosses depend on the wind to fly and sailors depend on the wind to sail albatrosses became a good omen to sailors. The albatross features in a famous poem about what happened to a sailor when he killed an albatross - 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.
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7. How long do albatross spend at sea? |
An albatross can live entirely at sea, feeding on fish and sleeping on the water. They spend at least 85% of their lives at sea. But they must return to land to nest and breed.
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8. Where do albatross nest? |
| Albatross generally return to breed when they were hatched. They tend to nest together in large colonies, often in association with rockhopper penguins. All albatross species choose nesting sites in exposed places, usually the top of cliffs or steep slopes, because they provide good take-off points. They usually do not have shelter and are exposed to wind and rain. In the Falkland Islands all albatross rookeries (total 13) are found off mainland West Falkland.
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9. How long does it take to rear an albatross chick? |
| Albatross usually breed for the first time when they are about 10 years old. The egg incubation period is long for a bird (68-72 days for the black-browed albatross, 78-81 for the royal albatross). When chicks are hatched, they are fed by both parents – for some species this may last 7 – 8 months. Many albatross only breed once every two years because courtship, incubation and chick rearing takes between 7 and 12 months.
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10. How long do Albatross live? |
Albatross mortality is high in the first year, but those that survive often surpass 50 years, making them one of the most well-travelled animals in the world. They are long lived birds – some are thought to live over 60 years. Some longevity records for birds in captivity are:
| Black-footed Albatross | 40 years 8 months |
| Wandering Albatross | 34 years 7 months |
| Black-browed Albatross | 32 years 5 months |
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11. Why are albatross numbers in decline? |
The biggest threat faced by albatross is death on longline fishing hooks, and their lifestyle makes them very vulnerable to the drastic impacts of this way of fishing. They are being killed in such vast numbers that they can’t breed fast enough to keep up. Albatross are also killed when they get entangled in warp lines and nets. 19 of the world’s 22 albatross species are seriously threatened. This is the highest proportion of species under threat of extinction of any bird family.
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12. How do albatross get caught by fishing hooks? |
| They are attracted to fishing boats because they know they can get a free meal. They try to take the fish and squid from the hooks to eat. Sometimes they are successful but a lot of the time the hook gets caught in their beak, they are pulled under the water and drown.
In the Southern Oceans longline fishers hunt tuna, ling, snapper, hoki and toothfish. Lawful boats from many nations come to fish. But there are also many illegal fishing boats that don’t obey international regulations. In 2001, illegal (or pirate) boats just hunting toothfish in Antarctic waters killed about 100,000 seabirds. Strict rules in Falkland Island waters control the commercial fishery so that seabird mortality has been reduced by 90%. |
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13. What is being done to save albatross populations around the world? |
Longlines don’t have to kill seabirds. To prevent birds swallowing the baited hooks before they have sunk below their reach, many simple measures have been devised some of which are cheap and easy to implement. Examples include:
- Towing bird-scaring (or tori) lines behind the vessel. These have plastic streamers tied to them that flap in the wind and scare birds away from the baited fishing line.
- Using an underwater setting tube. These set the fishing line underwater out of reach of the birds.
- Tying enough weights to the fishing line so that it sinks more quickly out of reach of the birds.
- Using thawed not frozen bait as it sinks more quickly.
- Dying the bait blue. This puts birds off eating it.
- Setting lines at night. Most albatrosses feed mainly by day.
For further information on how Falklands Conservation has and is working to reduce seabird deaths go to Saving Seabirds. For details of the major albatross campaign run by BirdLife International go to: www.savethealbatross.net. |
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