Short-tailed albatross ( Phoebastria albatrus) - Up to 7 feet 10 inches (213-240 cm) epomophora) which breeds on the Campbell and Auckland islands is the larger of the two. Like the wandering albatross, the royal albatross has also been split into two subspecies. Royal albatross ( Diomedea epomophora)- Up to 11 feet 6 inches (290-351cm) exulans) of the Southern Ocean is the largest. There are 5 subspecies of wandering albatross, and the snowy wandering albatross (D. The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird. Wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans) - Up to 11 feet 6 inches (254-351cm) Read on to discover the albatross species with the largest wingspans. They use their long, narrow wings to travel incredible distances of up to 15 000 miles each month. When they are not breeding, these birds spend all of their lives out at sea, moving between rich fishing grounds. We’ll also learn about why these birds get so big and how they compare with other large bird species.Īlbatrosses have the largest wingspans of any flying birds on the planet. This article covers the impressive size of the largest albatrosses as well as the species you are most likely to see. They are able to fly into even strong wind without flapping by using the lift provided by their wings, their streamlined form, and the power of gravity. These birds soar low to the water surface using an energy-efficient flying method known as dynamic soaring. The largest albatross species can weigh over 26 pounds and measure well over 11 feet from wing tip to wing tip.Īlbatrosses are made for the air. Scientists are still working on their classification, but there are probably about two-dozen albatross species in four genera. In fact, these majestic birds have the largest wingspan of any living bird. Most of the world's albatrosses live and breed in the cold and windy southern oceans, although three species can be seen out over the open waters of the northern pacific.Īlbatrosses are the largest flying seabirds. Few birdwatchers get the chance to see these birds through their own binoculars because of their open ocean habitat and remote breeding sites, however. Excavations of Aleut and Eskimo settlements reveal many albatross bones and suggest that the birds were an important part of human diet in the region.Albatrosses are some of the largest and most impressive birds in all the animal kingdom. The Laysan albatross was important to the indigenous hunters of the northern seas. Some albatross species were heavily hunted for feathers that were used as down and in the manufacture of women's hats. Albatrosses have a special place in maritime lore and superstition, most memorably evoked in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. DietĪlbatrosses feed primarily on squid or schooling fish, but are familiar to mariners because they sometimes follow ships in hopes of dining on handouts or garbage. Young albatrosses may fly within three to ten months, depending on the species, but then leave the land behind for some five to ten years until they themselves reach sexual maturity. Mating pairs produce a single egg and take turns caring for it. They are rarely seen on land and gather only to breed, at which time they form large colonies on remote islands. These long-lived birds have reached a documented 50 years of age. Albatrosses drink salt water, as do some other sea birds. They also float on the sea's surface, though the position makes them vulnerable to aquatic predators. Albatrosses use their formidable wingspans to ride the ocean winds and sometimes to glide for hours without rest or even a flap of their wings. These feathered giants have the longest wingspan of any bird-up to 11 feet! The wandering albatross is the biggest of some two dozen different species. An albatross aloft can be a spectacular sight.
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