Albatrossidae is a family of birds in the order Ornithischia, and the birds of this family are generally known as albatrosses. They are a seaside bird and the largest marine bird in the world.
Birds of the albatross family are larger , with narrow , long wings , and a longer and more powerful beak , forming a downward hook at the end of the upper beak. Adult birds are generally more than 1 meter long, with wings spreading up to the remaining 3-4 meters, weighing 8 to 9 kg, and male albatrosses are generally larger than females.
Albatross-human ratio reference
Worldwide distribution (blue zone)
Most birds of the albatross family live within the deep-sea regions of the southern hemisphere, with a few living in the North Pacific and equatorial regions.
Albatrosses are usually only seen at sea or on rocky islands when sailing in the ocean. Near Antarctica, their main food is fish, cuttlefish and shrimp. They also feed on the waste discarded by the ship, so they sometimes fly with the ship.
Albatrosses can fly for long periods of time at sea, and they can glide very efficiently on the surface of the sea using the principles of aerodynamics, sometimes without having to flap their wings for hours. When the albatross can grasp the air flow on the surface of the sea, it can fly at high speed in the air for 2000-3000 meters, and can cross 113 kilometers of the sea in 1 hour.
It is recorded that an albatross can fly up to 5,000 kilometers in 12 days. Birds of the albatross family generally only come ashore when they are young, and they can even sleep on the surface of the sea.
Albatrosses land on the island during the breeding season, build nests and lay eggs, and they do not escape when they encounter people. Albatrosses mature late and do not begin to breed until they are 5-8 years old, with females laying one or two eggs.
Albatrosses are monogamous and take turns hatching eggs for up to 60 days. Early young birds receive digested fat and semi-digested food from their parents. At this time, parents need to regurgitate the food in the body.
Life expectancy can reach 40-60 years.
Ashima Albatross
Diomedea amsterdamensis
The Isle of Ale Albatross, living on the island of Amsterdam in the southern french territory, is 107–122 cm long and has a wingspan of 280–340 cm. This bird is very similar in appearance to the wandering albatross, and its feathers are the same as the feathers of the drifting albatross in the third stage, so it looks very similar to the juvenile drifting albatross.
They were considered a subspecies of the widely distributed wandering albatross until 1983, when they were isolated as a separate species.
wandering albatross
Diomedea exulans
Wandering albatrosses, living near the Southern Ice Ocean. It is the largest type of albatross, with an average wingspan of up to 3.1 meters, and the largest confirmed wandering albatross has a wingspan of 3.7 meters, and the huge wingspan gives the wandering albatross a good gliding ability, they can stay in the air for several hours without waving their wings. Feed on squid, small fish, and waste discarded by boats. Previously, sailors used to catch albatrosses for the bones of albatrosses, and they used the long bones on its wings to make pipes for pipes. During navigation, albatrosses often followed the ship and flew around it. Early explorers who came to the Southern Ocean often applauded their friendship with the albatross in solitude.
Anjima Albatross
Diomedea antipodensis
Ann Island Albatross is distributed on andres islands such as Andres Island, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and other islands in the South Pacific. It is about 110 cm long and has a wingspan of more than 3 m. They were once identified as a subspecies of the wandering albatross until 1992, when they were independently identified as species. It feeds mainly on cephalopods.
Te Island Albatross
Diomedea dabbenena
The Island of Teresa albatrosses, found in the Tristan da Cunha Archipelago, particularly the middle of Gove Island, have been threatened by invasive species such as wild cats, rats and pigs, but the Island Rehabilitation Programme has successfully removed alien species from their habitat. However, invasive species such as house rats are still rampant, and even young birds that are larger than domestic rats are killed because they do not know how to protect themselves.
The Special Island Albatross is 110 cm long and has a wingspan of 3.5 m. At sea, it is almost impossible to distinguish between the Island albatross and the wandering albatross, so there is still no accurate data on the distribution of the sea area of the Island albatross. With the help of satellite positioning technology, they have been found to be often foraging on the southern side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Wang Albatross
Diomedea sanfordi
Wang Albatross, about 115 cm long, wingspan 270-305 cm, weight 6.2-8.2 kg. Feeds on fish, cephalopods, crustaceans and carrion. It is found off the coast of Antarctica and breeds in the Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands and the Otago Peninsula of New Zealand.
Southern Albatross
Diomedea epomophora
Southern albatrosses, about 110-123 cm in length, with an average wingspan of 2.9-3.2 m. They are distributed in the southern ocean, concentrated on the west and east coasts of southern South America, as well as in the waters around New Zealand. They generally tend to feed in shallow waters and closer to the continental shelf, feeding on cephalopods, fish, crustaceans, and carrion.
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