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Albatross
(from the Portuguese word albatross, pelican
from Portuguese, or Spanish alcatraz from Arabic ' meaning a pelican.. Seabirds
of the Diomedeidae family )
Intro.
Probably
one of the most mythical birds to fly the planet's skies the Albatross has
been the source of tales and superstitions since the time of the ancient
civilizations. Supposed harbinger of back luck the Albatross is none the
less my favourite bird. It symbolizes both independence and fidelity and
although it is seen as a solitary observer riding the winds of life with
apparent aloofness it is in fact just another case of Darwin's natural selection
at work, at least it would be without man's interference (see survival
status below)
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Description
The
Wandering Albatross is the largest of the albatrosses and is the living bird
with the greatest wingspan, measuring almost 3.5 m. The body length is up
to 1.35 m, with females slightly smaller than males. The adult Wandering
Albatross appears entirely white from a distance. Close up, the fine black
wavy lines on the breast, neck and upper back become visible. The bill can
vary in colour, but is normally yellowish-pink. The white tail is occasionally
tipped with black and the back of the wing changes from black to white with
age. A series of plumage phases are passed through as young birds reach full
adult plumage, which can take up to nine years. During these changes identification
can be difficult, and birds may be confused with other large albatrosses
with similar colourings
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Facts
Breeds
every 2 years. One Chick is produced every 2 years which takes 14 months
to raise to maturity. The Albatross spends approximately 80% of it's life
at sea.
Size 115cm, 9kg and a wingspan of 3 to 3.5m
Viewed year around, depending on the weather.
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Food
and feeding
Birds
are often seen scavenging scraps from fishing boats, but squid and fish are
the preferred food. Galley refuse and floating waste also form part of the
diet. Feeding is one of the few times that birds land, and this is mostly
undertaken at night.
They feed on squid. They are particularly vulnerable to being caught on longlines,
because they view anything on or near the surface as a potential food item
and are liable to seize baits (and the hooks therein) as fishing vessels
set their lines. Longlining is probably the biggest single killer of Wandering
Albatross each year.
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Breeding
Pairs
mate for life and breed every two years. Breeding takes place on subantarctic
islands and commences in early November. The nest is a mound of mud and vegetation
and is placed on an exposed ridge near the sea. The single egg hatches after
two months and the chick remains in the nest for approximately nine months.
During the early stages of the chick's development, the parents take turns
to sit on the nest while the other searches for food. Later, both adults
hunt for food and visit the chick at irregular intervals.
NB
- because it takes a year to complete the breeding cycle. The couple incubate
their single egg for 11 weeks and the take a further 40 weeks to fledge their
chick, which is dependent upon the parents for food over this entire period.
The chick perishes if either parent is lost at sea to longlines because a
single parent cannot collect enough food.
Breeding
Season: Egg laying - December to February; Hatching - March to April; Fledging
- November to February.
Population*:
The total number of individual albatross is around 134,500. Each year around
20,682 pairs attempt to breed.
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*Populations
Albatrosses
are of different populations but have similar biology. Difficult to tell
apart at sea they are generally treated as one group, the "Wandering
Albatross" . While most sources consulted are in agreement that the
majority of the world's albatrosses nest in subantarctic waters in the southern
hemisphere, with the exception of one that nests on or near the equators
(see source #3 below) there appear to be divergences in the way Albatrosses
are subdivided:
-
Source #1- One source have subdivided the Albatross into the following
4 regional species:
1-
Diomedea dabbena (Tristan albatross)
Found around the Gough & Tristan da Cunha Islands
2-
Diomedea antipodensis (Antipodean albatross)
Found around the Antipodes {99%} & Campbell Islands, South of New Zealand
3-
Diomedea gibsoni (Gibson's albatross)
Found around the Auckland Islands, South of New Zealand
4-
Diomedea exulans (Wandering albatross)
Being aptly named the Wandering Albatross is found around South Georgia,
South Atlantic; Crozet, Kerguelen, Prince Edward & Heard Islands, South
Indian Ocean; and Macquarie Island, South of Australia.
-
Source #2 divides the albatrosses into another
four groups:
1 -
North Pacific albatrosses (Phoebastria)
- Laysan Albatross
P. immutabilis
- Black-footed Albatross P. nigripes
- Galapagos Albatross P. irrorata
- Short-tailed Albatross P. albatrus
2 - Great albatrosses (Diomedea)
- Royal Albatross
D. epomophora
- Wandering Albatross D. exulans
- Amsterdam Albatross D. amsterdamensis
3 - Mollymawks (Thalassarche)
- Yellow-nosed Albatross T. chlororhynchos
- Buller's Albatross T. bulleri
- Shy Albatross T. cauta
- Grey-headed Albatross T. chrysostoma
- Black-browed Albatross T. melanophris
4 - Sooty albatrosses (Phoebetria)
- Dark-mantled Sooty Albatross P. fusca
- Light-mantled Sooty Albatross P. palpebrata.
-
Source #3
mentions that three species of Albatross breed in the north Pacific, and
one -- the Waved Albatross of the Galapagos actually breeds on the equator.
It, too, is quite a rare species, nesting only on Española Island.
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Dynamic
Soaring.
Albatrosses
are able to fly for hours, and maybe even days. To cover such large distances
Albatrosses not only use an incomparable muscle power but they also use a
technique called "Dynamic Soaring". This technique consists of
determining the winds direction then flying downwind so that the wind is
actually pushing the bird, thus enabling the bird to cover enough distance
with relatively little actual physical effort and to change direction the
Albatross has only to lift it's wing enabling it to glide across wind (See
the animation below)
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Survival Status:
The
Albatross is considered "Vulnerable" and "Endangered"
on the "IUCN* Red List Of
Threatened Species". Numerous cases of Albatrosses being caught in fishing
lines (Longlines) and other fishing paraphernalia, deliberate acts of malevolence
coupled with the fact that Albatrosses only give birth to a single egg during
a given breeding season, mean that the world's Albatross population is endangered
NB. Antipodean, Gibson's and Wandering albatrosses are classed as"Vulnerable";
the small population of Tristan albatross are classified "Endangered".
Of the eight population study sites where reliable data is available, four
are declining, one very small population is now stable after a period of
decline, and three are increasing.
* International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
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click to enlargen
Note
to map:
Wandering albatross are circumpolar between around 40 and 60 degrees south
latitude, although at times they will penetrate further south into the pack
ice - in the Ross Sea, as far as 70 degrees South.
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Albatrosses
in Literature
- The Rime of the ancient Mariner - possibly the best known reference to
the Albatross in Literature
"At
length did cross an Albatross:
Thorough the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's name. "
( Extract
from Part I "The Rime of the ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge )
-
Dylan Thomas: Quite Early One Morning
...I
would have told him: 'Arise old counter of the heartbeats of albatrosses,
and wake the cavernous sleepers of the town to a dazzling new morning.' I
would have told him...
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Albatrosses:
Superstitions, omens and interpretations:
1- An albatross flying around a ship in mid
ocean - bad weather
2- Albatross (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps; an albatross
around his neck after Coleridges The Rime of the Ancient Mariner where the
Mariner having killed then had to wear the dead bird around his neck
3- A constant, worrisome burden
4-
An obstacle to success
5- To see an albatross in your dream, symbolizes vulnerability and the risk
of exposure.
6-
To see a dying or dead albatross in your dream, indicates harsh conditions
and immediate bad luck ahead for you
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Acknowledgments:
Thanks
to "Australian
Museum" for certain facts and the "Greenpeace"
Southern Atlantic Pirate Fishing program for others
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