Snowy Albatross

The snowy albatross (''Diomedea exulans''), also known as the wandering albatross, white-winged albatross, or goonie, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae; they have a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It is the largest species of albatross and was long considered to be the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross. Together with the Amsterdam albatross, it forms the wandering albatross species complex, which some began referring to more recently as "snowy".

The snowy albatross is one of the two largest members of the genus ''Diomedea'' (the great albatrosses), being similar in size to the southern royal albatross. It has the greatest known wingspan of any living bird and is also one of the most far-ranging birds. Some individual snowy albatrosses are known to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean three times in one year, covering more than .

Taxonomy

The taxonomic history of this species is long and complicated. The species was first described as ''Diomedea exulans'' by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, based on a specimen from the Cape of Good Hope. ''Diomedea'' refers to Diomedes from Greek mythology whose companions turned to birds, and ''exulans'' or ''exsul'' are Latin for "exile" or "wanderer" referring to its extensive flights. The type locality has been restricted to South Georgia.

Some experts considered there to be four subspecies of ''D. exulans'', which they elevated to species status, and use the term ''wandering albatross'' to refer to a species complex that includes the proposed species '' D. antipodensis'', '' D. dabbenena'', ''D. exulans'', and ''D. gibsoni''.

Description

The plumage varies with age, with the juveniles starting chocolate brown. As they age they become whiter. The adults have white bodies with black and white wings. Males have whiter wings than females, with just the tips and trailing edges of the wings black. The snowy albatross is the whitest of the wandering albatross species complex, the other species having a great deal more brown and black on the wings and body, very closely resembling immature wandering albatrosses. The large bill is pink, as are the feet. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. They excrete a high saline solution from their nose, which is a probable cause for the pink-yellow stain seen on some animals' necks.

Size

The snowy albatross has the longest wingspan of any living bird, reaching upwards of , with a mean span of in Bird Island, South Georgia. Wingspan measured an average of in 123 birds measured off the coast of Malabar, New South Wales. On the Crozet Islands, adults averaged in wingspan. The longest-winged specimens have been about . Two specimens have been reported having wingspans of and , but these reports remain unverified. As a result of its large wingspan, it is capable of remaining in the air without flapping its wings for several hours at a time (traveling 22m for every meter of drop). The length of the body is about with females being slightly smaller than males.

Adults can weigh from , although most will weigh . On Macquarie Island, three males averaged and three females averaged .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . In parts of the Crozet Islands, males averaged while females averaged . However, 10 unsexed adults from the Crozet Islands averaged . On South Georgia, 52 males were found to average while 53 females were found to average .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), . On Île de la Possession, adult male snowy albatrosses averaged while adult females averaged . Another sampling of adult body masses from the same colony found males to average and females to average . Immature birds have been recorded weighing as much as during their first flights (at which time they may still have fat reserves that will be shed as they continue to fly). On South Georgia, fledglings were found to average . Albatrosses from outside the "snowy" wandering albatross group (''D. exulans'') are smaller but are now generally deemed to belong to different species.

Distribution and habitat

The snowy albatross breeds on South Georgia Island, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Prince Edward Islands, and Macquarie Island, is seen feeding year-round off the Kaikōura Peninsula on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and ranges in all the southern oceans from 28° to 60°. Some individual snowy albatrosses are known to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean three times, covering more than , in one year. Snowy albatrosses spend most of their life in flight, landing only to breed and feed. Distances traveled each year are difficult to measure, but one banded bird was recorded traveling in twelve days.Richardson, Michael (27 Sep 2002).
Endangered seabirds / New fishing techniques undercut an old talisman : Modern mariners pose rising threat to the albatross.
" ''Herald Tribune''.

Behavior

Feeding

Snowy albatrosses travel vast distances to find food, and tend to feed further out in open oceans and in colder waters further south, whereas other albatross such as the related royal albatross tend to forage in somewhat shallower waters and closer to continental shelves. They feed at the surface, mainly during daylight hours, and are not well adapted for diving. During flight, speeds of have been recorded. They feed on cephalopods, small fish, and crustaceans. The species has been shown to be attracted to fishing vessels, foraging on bait, caught fish, and offal.

Reproduction

The snowy albatross mates for life and breeds every other year. At breeding time they occupy loose colonies on isolated island groups in the Southern Ocean. When courting they will spread their wings, wave their heads, and rap their bills together while braying. Wanderers have a large range of displays from screams and whistles to grunts and bill clapping. They lay one egg that is white, with a few spots, and is about long. They lay between 10 December and 5 January. The nests are large bowls built of grassy vegetation and soil peat, that is 1 meter wide at the base and half a meter wide at the apex. Incubation takes about 11 weeks and both parents are involved. The 11-week incubation period is among the longest of any bird. During the early stages of the chick's development, the parents take turns sitting on the nest while the other searches for food. Later, both adults search for food and visit the chick at irregular intervals. Researchers previously assumed that chicks went without food for the whole winter after a weaning period of roughly 12 to 16 weeks. Later studies disproved this concept, as chicks were found to be feeding during this period. They are a monogamous species, usually for life. Adolescents return to the colony within six years; however, they will not start breeding until 11 to 15 years. About 31.5% of fledglings survive. They can live for over 50 years.Is foraging efficiency a key parameter in aging?
. Physorg (23 March 2010)

Relationship with humans

Sailors used to capture the birds for their long wing bones, from which they made tobacco pipe stems. The early explorers of the great Southern Sea were cheered by the companionship of the albatross in their dreary solitudes, and as shown in Coleridge's ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' killing them was seen as extremely bad luck. The metaphor of "an albatross around his neck" also comes from the poem and indicates an unwanted burden causing anxiety or hindrance. In the days of sail the bird often accompanied ships for days, not merely following it, but wheeling in wide circles around it without ever being observed to land on the water. It continued its flight, apparently untired, in tempestuous as well as moderate weather.

The Māori of New Zealand used albatrosses as a food source. They caught them using baited hooks. Because the wing bones of albatross are light but very strong, Māori used them to make a number of different items including ''kōauau'' (flutes), needles, tattooing chisel blades, and barbs for fish hooks.

Conservation

The IUCN lists the snowy albatross as vulnerable status. Adult mortality is 5% to 7.8% per year as of 2003. It has an occurrence range of , although its breeding range is only .

The biggest threat to their survival is that they are attracted by the bait for longline fishing

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