Wandering Albatross
Diomedea exulans
-55.8457, -57.4789
Field Notes
Description:
One of the largest birds in the world, the Wandering Albatross is a beautiful sight at sea. Has the largest wingspan of any bird, and spends most of its life in flight. It will spend the first 7 years of its life at sea, only returning to land to mate. Plumage varies with age, with juveniles bearing brown colouration, but getting whiter with age. The wings in adults have black feathers, and also become whiter as the bird gets older. Albatrosses are highly threatened by fishing as they often get caught in long lines. They are listed as Vulnerable by CITES.
Habitat:
Open ocean, they followed our ship everywhere except the far south (anything below 60 degrees S really).
Notes:
Fairly widespread, but they were less common than most of the petrels that followed us. The taxonomy of the wandering albatrosses is tricky, and there are several species that often form what is called a species complex. It is near impossible to tell them apart at sea, especially when you can't see them next to each other, so for the purposes of this spotting, this bird is just a Wandering Albatross, Diomedea exulans.
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