Wandering Albatross

The Wandering Albatross holds the record for the largest wingspan of any living bird, with some individuals stretching to an extraordinary 3.5 meters (11.5 ft) tip to tip. Adults are predominantly white, with black flight feathers along the trailing edge and tips of the wings, and a large, hooked pale pink bill.

Plumage varies considerably with age: young birds fledge in mostly chocolate-brown plumage and become progressively whiter with each successive molt over many years, so that only the oldest adults achieve the near-pure white body and black-edged wings typical of the species at its most striking.

True to its name, the Wandering Albatross ranges enormously far from its breeding islands, using dynamic soaring to glide effortlessly over Southern Ocean waves for days or weeks at a time, covering thousands of kilometers on a single foraging trip.

Key field marks

• Enormous wingspan, the largest of any living bird
• Mostly white body with black wingtips and trailing edges (in older adults)
• Large, pale pink, hooked bill
• Pink legs and feet

Similar species

• Royal Albatross is very similar in size and plumage but has a black cutting edge along the upper mandible visible at close range, and differs subtly in molt pattern of the upperwing.
• Younger Wandering Albatrosses in brown plumage can resemble immature Royal Albatrosses; both require careful observation of bill and wing pattern to separate reliably.

Wandering Albatrosses breed on remote subantarctic islands scattered across the Southern Ocean, including South Georgia, the Prince Edward Islands, the Crozet and Kerguelen Islands, and Macquarie Island. Nests are built on open, windswept tussock grassland slopes.

Outside of breeding, and during the long intervals between visits to the nest, adults range circumpolar across the Southern Ocean, sometimes circling the globe on extended foraging journeys that can cover tens of thousands of kilometers.

Voice

At colonies, Wandering Albatrosses perform elaborate courtship displays accompanied by loud braying, bill-clacking, and sky-pointing postures, while otherwise remaining largely silent at sea.

Feeding

They feed mainly on squid, fish, and crustaceans, taken from or near the sea surface, and also scavenge carrion including dead marine mammals, sometimes following fishing vessels.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs form long-term bonds and breed only every second year due to the exceptionally long chick-rearing period, which can last close to a year. A single egg is laid on a raised mound nest, and both parents share incubation and feeding duties over many months.