Wandering Albatross

Lore & Background

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 a ship, but wheeling in wide circles around it without ever being observed to land on the water. The bird would continue 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.

In Their Own Story

The wind screamed across South Georgia's windswept plateau, yet the albatross stood motionless, a statue of white against the bruised sky. With wings unfurled like vast sails, it seized a thermal rising from the cliff edge and launched into the void. Below, the Southern Ocean churned in a violent ballet of foam and ice; above, there was only silence and the perfect, effortless arc of flight. For days on end, this solitary ghost would ride invisible currents, scanning the ink-black water for the silver flash of squid or the drifting corpse of a whale, haunting the very edge of the world.

Reader's Guide

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°. It feeds on cephalopods, small fish, and crustaceans. The species has been shown to be attracted to fishing vessels, foraging on bait, caught fish, and offal. 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. They lay one egg that is white, with a few spots, and is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long. They lay between 10 December and 5 January. Incubation takes about 11 weeks and both parents are involved. The IUCN lists the snowy albatross as vulnerable status. The biggest threat to their survival is that they are attracted by the bait for longline fishing and get caught in the same way as the fish; however, pollution is also taking a toll, mainly from plastics and abandoned fishing hooks.

Did You Know?

• The snowy albatross has the longest wingspan of any living bird, reaching up to 3.7 m (12 ft), with a mean span of 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) in Bird Island, South Georgia.
• Some individual snowy albatrosses are known to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean three times in one year, covering more than 120,000 km (75,000 mi).
• The 11-week incubation period is among the longest of any bird.
• Adults can weigh from 5.9 to 12.7 kg (13 to 28 lb), although most will weigh 6.35 to 11.91 kg (14.0 to 26.3 lb).