Waved albatross

Waved albatrosses are a species of albatross belonging to family Diomedeidae of the order Procellariiformes, along with shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns, although the nostrils of the albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates.

Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators and as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights.[5] 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. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.[6]

The waved albatross derives its name from the wave-like pattern of the feathers on adult birds.[7]

These are medium-sized albatrosses, measuring 80 to 90 cm (31 to 35 in) in length with a wingspan of 220–250 cm (7.2–8.2 ft).[7] They range between 2.7 and 4.0 kg (6.0 and 8.8 lb) in mass, with males averaging significantly heavier than females.[8] They are distinctive for their yellowish-cream neck and head, which contrasts with their mostly brownish bodies. Even more distinctive is the very long, bright yellow bill, which looks disproportionately large in comparison to the relatively small head and long, slender neck. They also have chestnut brown upper parts and underparts, except for the breast, with fine barring, a little coarser on the rump. They have brown upper-wings, back, and tail, along with a whitish breast and underwings. Their axillaries are brown. Finally they have bluish feet. Juveniles are similar to adults except for more white on their head.[9] Chicks have brown fluffy feathers. The lifespan of this species may reach 40 to 45 years.

The waved albatross breeds primarily on Española Island in the Galápagos archipelago; however, there have been sightings of non-breeders and therefore possible small numbers, around 10 to 20, of breeders on Genovesa Island and Isla de la Plata.[9][10] During non-breeding season they will shift to the east and southeast to the continental shelf region off the coast of Peru and Ecuador. Sometimes they are seen in Colombia.[9]

The population of waved albatrosses on the Galápagos is protected by national park personnel, and the island is also categorized as a World Heritage Site.[9] But limited range, bycatch by longline fishing, disturbance via tourism, disease, and the effects of illegal fishing in the nearby waters place them in considerable jeopardy. Longline fishing in particular seems to be having a severe impact on the species, the conservation status of which was upgraded from near threatened to vulnerable by the IUCN in 2000.

Despite there still being some 34,700 adult birds in 2001, their numbers have apparently started to decrease at an unknown rate more recently, probably due to longline fishing which also upsets the sex ratio (males being killed more frequently). As the current situation makes the population highly vulnerable to a catastrophic collapse to extinction, it was uplisted to critically endangered status in the 2007 IUCN Red List.[1]

The population of 34,700 adult birds was based on a 2001 estimate; however in 1970 and 1971 there were an estimated 24,000, and 1994 saw between 31,200 and 36,400. This species has an occurrence range of 1,750,000 km² (680,000 sq mi), and a breeding range of 9 km² (3.5 sq mi).[9]

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  In flight
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  Unfledged chick in January
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  Abandoned egg
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  Illustration by Joseph Smit, 1896

• BirdLife International (2008a). "Waved Albatross – BirdLife Species Factsheet". Data Zone. Retrieved 10 Mar 2009.
• BirdLife International (2008b). "The BirdLife checklist of the birds of the world, with conservation status and taxonomic sources". Archived from the original (xls) on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 22 Feb 2009.
• Clements, James (2007). The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World (6th ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4501-9.
• Darwin Foundation – Albatross
• Double, M. C. (2003). "Procellariiformes (Tubenosed Seabirds)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 107–111. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.
• Ehrlich, Paul R.; Dobkin, David, S.; Wheye, Darryl (1988). The Birders Handbook (First ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 29–31. ISBN 0-671-65989-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Howell, Steven N. G. (2012). Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide. Princeton, NJ, US: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14211-1.
• Remsen Jr., J. V.; et al. (7 Aug 2008). "A classification of the bird species of South America, South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 22 Feb 2009.
• Galapagos Conservancy (n.d.). "Sea and Shore Birds". Galapagos Conservancy. Galapagos Conservancy.

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• Species factsheet - BirdLife International