Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to

the procellariids, storm petrels and diving petrelsin the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They
range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic,
although fossil remains show they once occurred there and occasional vagrants are found.
Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the genus great albatrosses have the longest
wingspans of any extant birds, reaching up to 3.7 metres (12 feet). The albatrosses are usually
regarded as falling into four genera, but there is disagreement over the number of species.
Albatrosses are highly efficient in the air, using dynamic soaring and slope soaring to cover great
distances with little exertion. They feed on squid, fish and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing
or diving. Albatrosses are colonial, nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands, often with
several species nesting together. Pair bonds between males and females form over several years,
with the use of "ritualised dances", and will last for the life of the pair. A breeding season can take
over a year from laying to fledging, with a single egg laid in each breeding attempt. A Laysan
albatross, named Wisdom, on Midway Island is recognised as the oldest wild bird in the world; she
was first banded in 1956 by Chandler Robbins.[2]
Of the 22 species of albatross recognised by the IUCN, all are listed as at some level of concern; 3
species are Critically Endangered, 5 species are Endangered, 7 species are Near Threatened, and 7
species are Vulnerable. Numbers of albatrosses have declined in the past due to harvesting
for feathers, but today the 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. Longline fisheries pose the greatest
threat, as feeding birds are attracted to the bait, become hooked on the lines, and drown.
Identified stakeholders such as governments, conservation organisations and people in the fishing
industry are all working toward reducing this bycatch.

Contents
[hide]

• 1Science
o 1.1Taxonomy and evolution
o 1.2Morphology and flight
o 1.3Distribution and range at sea
o 1.4Diet
o 1.5Breeding and dancing
• 2Albatrosses and humans
o 2.1Etymology
o 2.2In culture
2.2.1Non-European mythologies
o 2.3Birdwatching
o 2.4Threats and conservation
• 3Species
• 4See also
• 5References
• 6External links

Science[edit]
Taxonomy and evolution[edit]
The "albatross" designation comprises between 13 and 24 species (the number of species is still a
matter of some debate, 21 being the most commonly accepted number) in four genera. These
genera are the great albatrosses (Diomedea), the mollymawks (Thalassarche), the North Pacific
albatrosses (Phoebastria), and the sooty albatrosses or sooties (Phoebetria). The North Pacific
albatrosses are considered to be a sister taxon to the great albatrosses, while the sooty albatrosses
are considered closer to the mollymawks.[3]
The taxonomy of the albatross group has been a source of much debate. The Sibley-Ahlquist
taxonomy places seabirds, birds of prey and many others in a greatly enlarged order, Ciconiiformes,
whereas the ornithological organisations in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New
Zealand retain the more traditional order Procellariiformes. The albatrosses can be separated from
the other Procellariiformes both genetically and through morphological characteristics, size, their
legs, and the arrangement of their nasal tubes (see below: Morphology and flight).[3]
Within the family, the assignment of genera has been debated for over 100 years. Originally placed
into a single genus, Diomedea, they were rearranged by Reichenbach into four different genera in
1852, then lumped back together and split apart again several times, acquiring 12 different genus
names in total (though never more than eight at one time) by 1965
(Diomedea, Phoebastria, Thalassarche, Phoebetria, Thalassageron, Diomedella, Nealbatrus, Rhoth
onia, Julietata, Galapagornis, Laysanornis, and Penthirenia).[4]
By 1965, in an attempt to bring some order back to the classification of albatrosses, they were
lumped into two genera, Phoebetria (the sooty albatrosses which most closely seemed to resemble
the procellarids and were at the time considered "primitive" ) and Diomedea (the rest).[5] Though
there was a case for the simplification of the family (particularly the nomenclature), the classification
was based on the morphological analysis by Elliott Coues in 1866, and paid little attention to more
recent studies and even ignored some of Coues's suggestions.[4]
More recent research by Gary Nunn of the American Museum of Natural History (1996) and other
researchers around the world studied the mitochondrial DNA of all 14 accepted species, finding four,
not two, monophyletic groups within the albatrosses.[6] They proposed the resurrection of two of the
old genus names, Phoebastria for the North Pacific albatrosses and Thalassarche for the
mollymawks, with the great albatrosses retaining Diomedea and the sooty albatrosses staying
in Phoebetria. Both the British Ornithologists' Union and the South African authorities split the
albatrosses into four genera as Nunn suggested, and the change has been accepted by the majority
of researchers.
While some agree on the number of genera, fewer agree on the number of species. Historically, up
to 80 different taxa have been described by different researchers; most of these were incorrectly
identified juvenile birds.[7]

Phylogenetic relationships of the albatross genera, based on Nunn et al., 1996

Based on the work on albatross genera, Robertson and Nunn went on in 1998 to propose a revised
taxonomy with 24 different species,[4]compared to the 14 then accepted. This expanded taxonomy
elevated many established subspecies to full species, but was criticised for not using, in every
case, peer reviewed information to justify the splits. Since then, further studies have in some
instances supported or disproved the splits; a 2004 paper analysing the mitochondrial
DNA and microsatellites agreed with the conclusion that the Antipodean albatross and the Tristan
albatross were distinct from the wandering albatross, per Robertson and Nunn, but found that the
suggested Gibson's albatross, Diomedea gibsoni, was not distinct from the Antipodean
albatross.[8] For the most part, an interim taxonomy of 21 species is accepted by ITIS and many other
researchers, though by no means all—in 2004 Penhallurick and Wink called for the number of
species to be reduced to 13 (including the lumping of the Amsterdam albatross with the wandering
albatross),[9] although this paper was itself controversial.[7][10] On all sides is the widespread
agreement on the need for further research to clarify the issue.
Sibley and Ahlquist's molecular study of the evolution of the bird families has put the radiation of
the Procellariiformes in the Oligoceneperiod (35–30 million years ago), though this group probably
originated earlier, with a fossil sometimes attributed to the order, a seabird known as Tytthostonyx,
being found in late Cretaceous rocks (70 mya). The molecular evidence suggests that the storm
petrels were the first to diverge from the ancestral stock, and the albatrosses next, with the
procellarids and diving petrels separating later. The earliest fossil albatrosses were found
in Eocene to Oligocene rocks, although some of these are only tentatively assigned to the family and
none appear to be particularly close to the living forms. They are Murunkus (Middle Eocene
of Uzbekistan), Manu (early Oligocene of New Zealand), and an undescribed form from the Late
Oligocene of South Carolina. Similar to the last was Plotornis, formerly often considered a petrel but
now accepted as an albatross. It is from the Middle Miocene of France, a time when the split
between the four modern genera was already underway as evidenced by Phoebastria
californica and Diomedea milleri, both being mid-Miocene species from Sharktooth Hill, California.
These show that the split between the great albatrosses and the North Pacific albatrosses occurred
by 15 mya. Similar fossil finds in the Southern Hemisphere put the split between the sooties and
mollymawks at 10 mya.[3] The fossil record of the albatrosses in the Northern Hemisphere is more
complete than that of the southern, and many fossil forms of albatross have been found in the
North Atlantic, which today has no albatrosses. The remains of a colony of short-tailed
albatrosses have been uncovered on the island of Bermuda,[11] and the majority of fossil albatrosses
from the North Atlantic have been of the genus Phoebastria (the North Pacific albatrosses);
one, Phoebastria anglica, has been found in deposits in both North Carolina and England. Due
to convergent evolution in particular of the leg and foot bones, remains of the
prehistoric pseudotooth birds (Pelagornithidae) may be mistaken for those of extinct
albatrosses; Manumay be such a case, and quite certainly the supposed giant albatross femur from
the Early Pleistocene[12] Dainichi Formation at Kakegawa, Japan, actually is from one of the last
pseudotooth birds. For more data on fossil species of the living albatross genera, see the genus
articles.

Morphology and flight[edit]

Portrait of a southern royal albatross (Diomedea epomophora). Note the large, hooked beak and nasal tubes.
The albatrosses are a group of large to very large birds; they are the largest of the procellariiformes.
The bill is large, strong and sharp-edged, the upper mandible terminating in a large hook. This bill is
composed of several horny plates, and along the sides are the two "tubes", long nostrils that give
the order its former name. The tubes of all albatrosses are along the sides of the bill, unlike the rest
of the Procellariiformes where the tubes run along the top of the bill. These tubes allow the
albatrosses to measure the exact airspeed in flight; the nostrils are analogous to the pitot tubes in
modern aircraft. The albatross needs accurate airspeed measurement in order to perform dynamic
soaring. Like other Procellariiformes, they use their uniquely developed sense of smell to locate
potential food sources, whereas most birds depend on eyesight.[13] The feet have no hind toe and the
three anterior toes are completely webbed. The legs are strong for Procellariiformes, making them
and the giant petrels the only members of that order which can walk well on land.[14]
Albatrosses, along with all Procellariiformes, must excrete the salts they ingest in drinking sea water
and eating marine invertebrates. All birds have an enlarged nasal gland at the base of the bill, above
their eyes. This gland is inactive in species that do not require it, but in the Procellariiformes it acts
as a salt gland. Scientists are uncertain as to its exact processes, but do know in general terms that
it removes salt by secreting a 5% saline solution that drips out of their nose or is forcibly ejected.[15]

Taking off is one of the main times albatrosses use flapping to fly, and is the most energetically demanding part
of a journey.

The adult plumage of most of the albatrosses is usually some variation of dark upper-wing and back
with white undersides, often compared to that of a gull.[14] 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. Several
species of mollymawks and North Pacific albatrosses have face markings like eye patches or have
grey or yellow on the head and nape. Three albatross species, the black-footed albatross and the
two sooty albatrosses, vary completely from the usual patterns and are almost entirely dark brown
(or dark grey in places in the case of the light-mantled albatross). Albatrosses take several years to
get their full adult breeding plumage.[3]
The wingspans of the largest great albatrosses (genus Diomedea) are the largest of any bird,
exceeding 340 cm (11.2 ft), although the other species' wingspans are considerably smaller at no
more than 1.75 m (5.7 ft).[16] The wings are stiff and cambered, with thickened streamlined leading
edges. Albatrosses travel huge distances with two techniques used by many long-winged
seabirds: dynamic soaring and slope soaring. Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind
and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from the vertical wind gradient. The only effort
expended is in the turns at the top and bottom of every such loop. This maneuver allows the bird to
cover almost a thousand kilometres a day without flapping its wings. Slope soaring uses the rising
air on the windward side of large waves. Albatross have high glide ratios, around 22:1 to 23:1,
meaning that for every metre they drop, they can travel forward 22 metres.[3] They are aided in
soaring by a shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing the
wing to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure, a morphological adaptation they share
with the giant petrels.[17]
Albatrosses range over huge areas of ocean and regularly circle the globe.

Albatrosses combine these soaring techniques with the use of predictable weather systems:
albatrosses in the Southern Hemisphere flying north from their colonies will take a clockwise route,
and those flying south will fly counterclockwise.[14] Albatrosses are so well adapted to this lifestyle
that their heart rates while flying are close to their basal heart rate when resting. This efficiency is
such that the most energetically demanding aspect of a foraging trip is not the distance covered, but
the landings, take-offs and hunting they undertake having found a food source.[18] A common
assumption is that albatrosses must be able to sleep in flight, although no direct evidence has ever
been obtained.[19]
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.
Their adaptation to gliding flight makes them dependent on wind and waves, however, as their long
wings are ill-suited to powered flight and most species lack the muscles and energy to undertake
sustained flapping flight. Albatrosses in calm seas rest on the ocean's surface until the wind picks up
again as it is not energetically worthwhile using powered flight, though they are capable of flight to
avoid danger [20]. The North Pacific albatrosses can use a flight style known as flap-gliding, where the
bird progresses by bursts of flapping followed by gliding.[21] When taking off, albatrosses need to take
a run up to allow enough air to move under the wing to provide lift.[14]
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.[22]

Distribution and range at sea