Black-footed Albatross Identification Guide

Key Field Marks

• Large albatross with long, narrow, stiffly held wings adapted for dynamic soaring low over ocean swells.
• Plumage is almost entirely sooty dark brown to blackish, with a paler, whitish area at the base of the bill and sometimes a whitish patch around the base of the tail/undertail coverts.
• Older adults often show white feathering developing around the base of the bill and eye over successive years.
• Bill is dark and hooked at the tip; feet are black.
• Flight is characterized by long glides on flat, rigid wings low over the water, with only occasional slow wingbeats.

Separating It From Similar Species

• Laysan Albatross, its close relative and frequent companion at breeding colonies, is easily told apart by its white head and underparts contrasting with dark upperwings — Black-footed Albatross looks uniformly dark by comparison.
• Short-tailed Albatross is much larger with a massive bubblegum-pink bill; adults are mostly white-bodied, while immatures are dark brown like Black-footed Albatross but show a pale bill and pink-based bill that Black-footed lacks.
• Overall dark, fairly uniform plumage combined with dark feet (visible when perched or in flight against a pale background) helps confirm the identification.

Where and When to See It

• Breeds colonially on remote islands, primarily in the Hawaiian archipelago (notably Midway and Laysan), with smaller colonies off Japan.
• Highly pelagic outside the breeding season, ranging widely across the North Pacific, including productive waters off California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Japan.
• Regularly seen on pelagic birding trips off the U.S. West Coast, especially over deep water and near fishing vessels.

Voice and Behavior

• Largely silent at sea; at breeding colonies, gives whinnying calls and engages in elaborate bill-clacking and head-bobbing courtship displays typical of albatrosses.
• Feeds on fish eggs, squid, and other marine organisms taken from or near the surface, and readily follows fishing boats for scraps and bycatch.
• Like other albatrosses, mates for long-term pair bonds and returns to the same nesting island year after year.