The wandering albatross, which lives near the Southern Ice Ocean, is the largest type of albatross, with a wingspan of 3.1 meters. The wandering albatross can fly thousands of kilometers with little effort, and its secret lies in its body structure and flying skills.
Drifting albatrosses are about 1.35 meters long, and females are usually slightly smaller than males, generally weighing 6-12 kg.
Dr. Ingram holds a young wandering albatross
Photographed in: Croze Island in 1929
In general, the color of the feathers is related to their age, and the adult wandering albatrosses have white bodies and the wings are generally black and white. Females have whiter wings than males, with black tips and trailing edges.
Sub-adult wandering albatross
A sub-adult wandering albatross takes off on the surface of the water
Sub-adult wandering albatrosses have more black on their wings and body. Other species of albatrosses of reproductive age are very similar to them, such as the Ashima albatross, the Teshima albatross and the Anjima albatross.
The wandering albatross has a large beak, and its beak and feet are pink.
They also have an inconspicuous peach-shaped spot on the side of their heads.
The average wingspan of the drifting albatross can reach 3.1 meters, and the largest confirmed drifting albatross has a wingspan of 3.7 meters.
The huge wingspan gives the wandering albatross good gliding ability, they can stay in the air for several hours without waving their wings, and at the same time, they can glide 22 meters away for every 1 meter drop.
Drifting albatross diving prey
Wandering albatrosses feed on squid, small fish, and waste discarded by boats, and sometimes eat too much to fly, so they have to rest helplessly on the water.
Scenes of a wandering albatross courtship
The nest of the wandering albatross
During the breeding season, they occupy loose territory on islands in the Antarctic Ocean to nest and breed offspring. Their nests are volcanic in shape, built with plants, about a meter wide at the bottom and about half a meter wide at the top.
The wandering albatross breeds only one egg at a time, and the eggs are white with spots on them, about 10 cm long.
Wandering albatrosses hatch and feed their offspring
Wandering albatrosses live near the Antarctic Ocean and breed on the back islands of Antarctica, in particular: South Georgia (UK), Prince Edward and Marion Islands (South Africa), Croze and Kergren Islands (France) and Macquarie Island (Australia).
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