---
title: "What the sources say about the Wandering Albatross | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "51 claims from the Wandering Albatross profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/wandering-albatross/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Wandering Albatross (*Diomedea exulans*)

> 51 claims from the Wandering Albatross profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Wandering Albatross](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/wandering-albatross/)

## Diomedea exulans (wandering albatross). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Diomedea_exulans/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| an albatross whose mating and territorial displays carry their own percussion and brass: bill-clapping and trumpeting | Displays and vocalizations are common when defending territory or mating. They include croaks, bill-clapping, bill-touching, skypointing, trumpeting, head-shaking, the "ecstatic" gesture, and "the gawky-look". (note: vibe.reason, set in #964 while parked (The Specials moved here from the meerkat, #954). The restore wave (#921) adds the ADW reference https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Diomedea_exulans/ with this id and keeps this claim.) |
| Perhaps the longest wingspan of any bird | Wandering albatrosses have extraordinary morphology, with perhaps the longest wingspan of any bird. |
| Wingspan of about 3 m | All subspecies of wandering albatrosses have extremely long wingspans (averaging just over 3 meters) |
| Open ocean of the Southern Hemisphere and sub-Antarctic breeding islands | Wandering albatrosses breed on several subantarctic islands, which are characterized by peat soils, tussock grass, sedges, mosses, and shrubs. |
| Open ocean of the Southern Hemisphere and sub-Antarctic breeding islands | Outside of the breeding season, wandering albatrosses are found only in the open ocean, where food is abundant. |
| The wandering albatross has perhaps the longest wingspan of any bird | Wandering albatrosses have extraordinary morphology, with perhaps the longest wingspan of any bird. |
| Some sources, such as Animal Diversity Web (ADW), treat several of these forms as subspecies of one species | There is some disagreement over how many subspecies of wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans ) there are, and whether they should be considered separate species. ... Diomedea exulans exulans breeds on South Georgia, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, and Macquarie islands. Diomedea exulans dabbenena occurs on Gough and Inaccessible islands (note: ADW's account covers D. e. exulans, dabbenena, antipodensis and amsterdamensis together.) |
| wingspans run from 2.5 to 3.5 metres and average 3.1 metres | Range wingspan 2.5 to 3.5 m 8.20 to 11.48 ft Average wingspan 3.1 m (note: ADW's table covers its whole complex (all subspecies), hence 'Across all of ADW's subspecies'. ADW: 'averaging just over 3 meters' (physical description) and table average 3.1 m.) |
| ADW says wandering albatrosses are highly vulnerable to becoming bycatch, meaning they are caught by accident in fishing gear, and attributes population declines mostly to it | All subspecies of Diomedea exulans are highly vulnerable to becoming bycatch of commercial fisheries, and population declines are mostly attributed to this. |
| Open ocean of the Southern Hemisphere | Wandering albatrosses are found almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, although occasional sightings just north of the Equator have been reported. (note: ADW scope is the whole complex; D. exulans breeding sites (ACAP) are all subantarctic Southern Hemisphere islands.) |
| and lays a single egg | A single egg is laid (note: ADW's complex scope; ACAP's D. exulans account does not state clutch size.) |

## Diomedea exulans. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22698305A132640680.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t22698305a132640680.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758, IUCN taxon 22698305. (note: Assessed 2018; latest per Crossref and GBIF check 2026-09-29.) |
| rated the species Vulnerable in 2018 | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). (note: 2018 is the assessment year in the DOI (2018-2) and in the prefetch file; the category text does not carry the year.) |

## ACAP Species assessment: Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans. Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels.

https://www.acap.aq/acap-species/304-wandering-albatross/file

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Scientists have split the old wandering albatross into several species | Most recent publications and ACAP recognise Diomedea exulans, D. dabbenena and D. amsterdamensis as full species |
| The name Diomedea exulans now goes to the large form of the high southern latitudes | the large, high latitude form should be named D. e. exulans |
| which is sometimes called the snowy albatross | Sometimes referred to as Snowy albatross |
| Fish and cephalopods (the squid and octopus group) are its main food, from about 50 squid species and 10 fish species | Fish and cephalopods are the main components of the D. exulans diet, with a wide variety of species caught or scavenged ( c. 50 squid species and c . 10 fish species) |
| It is a biennial breeder, normally nesting every other year | is a biennial breeding species, although about 30% of successful and 35% of failed breeders (on average) defer breeding beyond the expected year (note: 'normally' carries the source's exceptions; Weimerskirch 2015 also finds some Crozet females breeding in consecutive years.) |
| Incubation averages 78 to 79 days | hatching mostly in March after mean incubation of 78-79 days |
| on South Georgia most chicks spend 278 days in the nest | On South Georgia ( Islas Georgias del Sur), most chicks fledge in December after 278 days in the nest |
| On the Crozet Islands, birds hatched from 1982 to 1990 started breeding at an average age of 9.6 years for females and 10.4 for males | On Crozet Islands, D. exulans begin breeding when at least 7 years old (mean age 9.6 years for females and 10.4 years for males for 9 cohorts between 1982 and 1990) (note: '9 cohorts between 1982 and 1990': a cohort is a hatch year.) |
| During late chick-rearing and outside the breeding season, birds from Marion Island and Crozet overlap with intense tuna long-line fishing south of South Africa, where bycatch rates are high | During late chickrearing and the non-breeding period, Marion Island and Crozet populations overlap spatially within areas of intense tuna long-line fishing effort south of South Africa [86] where bycatch rates are high [93] . |
| Birds usually come back to the colony at 5 to 7 years old, though some return at 3 on South Georgia and others at 14 on the Crozet Islands | Birds usually return to colonies when 5-7 years old, although they can be as young as 3 years on South Georgia ( Georgias del Sur) [43] and as old as 14 years on Crozet Islands [44] . |
| On Crozet, birds begin breeding when at least 7 years old | On Crozet Islands, D. exulans begin breeding when at least 7 years old |
| Fish and cephalopods such as squid, plus some carrion | Fish and cephalopods are the main components of the D. exulans diet, with a wide variety of species caught or scavenged ( c. 50 squid species and c . 10 fish species) |
| Fish and cephalopods such as squid, plus some carrion | with carrion a minor item at 3.3% |
| sub-Antarctic breeding islands | Diomedea exulans breed on the French subantarctic island groups of Crozet and Kerguelen, on South Africa‟s Prince Edward Islands, Australia‟s Macquarie Island and on South Georgia |
| Patagonian toothfish is the main fish | Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides is the primary fish species in the diet |
| D. exulans breeds on the French island groups of Crozet and Kerguelen, South Africa's Prince Edward Islands, Australia's Macquarie Island and South Georgia | Diomedea exulans breed on the French subantarctic island groups of Crozet and Kerguelen, on South Africa‟s Prince Edward Islands, Australia‟s Macquarie Island and on South Georgia (note: Final pass: the body named no range until this line.) |

## AnAge entry for Diomedea exulans. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Diomedea_exulans

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| AnAge lists a maximum lifespan of 50 years in the wild, while noting that detailed studies are lacking | Maximum longevity 50 years (wild) ... These animals have been estimated to live up to 40 years in the wild [ 0952 ], though detailed studies are lacking. (note: AnAge's own notes: estimated up to 40 years, anecdotally 60; the page states only the listed field and the 'detailed studies are lacking' caveat.) |

## Shaffer, Weimerskirch & Costa (2001). Functional significance of sexual dimorphism in Wandering Albatrosses, Diomedea exulans. Functional Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.2001.00514.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| adult males averaged a wing span of 311 cm and a weight of 9.44 kg | adult males had longer wings (4%, 311 ± 4 cm) with 6·8% more area (6260 ± 270 cm 2 ), but were also 20·4% heavier (9·44 ± 0·59 kg) than adult females. (note: Crozet Archipelago adults. The abstract lists the measurements as 'Body girth, mass, wing span and area'; wing length is not among them, and 311 cm can only be tip-to-tip span (a folded wing chord is well under 1 m), so the 'longer wings (4%, 311 ± 4 cm)' is the span. Source prints 9·44 with a middle dot.) |
| adult males had wings 4% longer and 6.8% more wing area than adult females, and were 20.4% heavier | adult males had longer wings (4%, 311 ± 4 cm) with 6·8% more area (6260 ± 270 cm 2 ), but were also 20·4% heavier (9·44 ± 0·59 kg) than adult females. (note: Source prints 6·8 and 20·4 with middle dots.) |
| males 12.1% more wing loading | wing loading in adult males was 12·1% greater than adult females (note: Source prints 12·1 with a middle dot.) |
| The authors suggest this may suit males to the windier southern seas and females to lighter winds farther north | it is conceivable that windier regions of the sub‐Antarctic/Antarctic are more optimal for male albatrosses because they have higher wing loading. Conversely, wing loading is lower in adult females and fledglings, which could make them better adapted to exploit lighter winds of the subtropical and tropical regions. |

## Weimerskirch et al. (2000). Fast and fuel efficient? Optimal use of wind by flying albatrosses. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2000.1223

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| cruises on tail or side winds using little more energy than a bird resting on land | When cruising with favourable tail or side winds, wandering albatrosses can achieve high flight speeds while expending little more energy than birds resting on land. |
| Cruising with a tail or side wind, a wandering albatross can fly fast while using little more energy than a bird resting on land | When cruising with favourable tail or side winds, wandering albatrosses can achieve high flight speeds while expending little more energy than birds resting on land. |
| Effort peaks when it takes off from or lands on the water | Our results show that effort is greatest when albatrosses take off from or land on the water. |
| Researchers fitted males with external heart-rate recorders and used heart rate as a measure of effort | free-ranging male wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) was studied with miniaturized external heart-rate recorders ... Heart rate was used as an instantaneous index of energy expenditure. |
| A headwind raised it and slowed the bird | heart rate increases concomitantly with increasing head winds, and flight speeds decrease. |
| going anticlockwise when heading north and clockwise when heading south | When heading north, albatrosses fly in anticlockwise loops, and to the south, movements are in a clockwise direction. |
| To give themselves the best chance of favourable winds, the birds use predictable weather systems to fly big looping tracks | in order for birds to have the highest probability of experiencing favourable winds, wandering albatrosses use predictable weather systems to engage in a stereotypical flight pattern of large looping tracks. |
| Wings Built for the Windiest Place on Earth | the complex interplay between the evolution of morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations of albatrosses in the windiest place on earth. |

## Sachs et al. (2012). Flying at No Mechanical Energy Cost: Disclosing the Secret of Wandering Albatrosses. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041449

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| tags: storm-dweller | We use in-flight-measurement data to show how birds gain the energy required for flying without flapping their wings from the moving air in the shear wind above the sea surface. (note: task #976; study birds are wandering albatrosses (title). Same paper: 'spend most of their lives in flight over the sea and return to small oceanic islands only for breeding') |

## Nevitt, Losekoot & Weimerskirch (2008). Evidence for olfactory search in wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0709047105

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| first detecting prey by smell was involved in nearly half (46.8%) of the flights that ended in a catch | initial olfactory detection was implicated in nearly half (46.8%) of all flown approaches preceding prey-capture events |
| Birds tracking a smell fly across the wind, then zigzag upwind toward the source. Birds that see their prey just fly straight at it. | olfactory search would be facilitated by crosswind flight to optimize the probability of encountering a plume emanating from a prey item, followed by upwind, zigzag flight to localize the prey. By contrast, birds approaching prey by sight would be expected to fly directly to a prey item, irrespective of wind direction. ... we confirm these predictions in freely ranging wandering albatrosses. |
| That food is patchy and spread over thousands of square kilometres of open ocean. | forage over thousands of square kilometers of open ocean for patchily distributed live prey and carrion. |

## Weimerskirch et al. (2015). Extreme variation in migration strategies between and within wandering albatross populations during their sabbatical year and their fitness consequences. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08853

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| in a year off from breeding some circle Antarctica twice or even three times | It is noteworthy that 33% of birds from Crozet and Kerguelen that circumnavigated Antarctica repeated this journey twice during the same sabbatical year, and two birds completed three circumnavigations (note: Sabbatical year = the year off between breeding attempts (the paper's term). The abstract's 'migrants circumnavigate Antarctica 2 to 3 times' is the upper end; the results give 33% of circumnavigators twice, two birds three times.) |
| a third of the tracked Crozet and Kerguelen birds that circled Antarctica went round twice, and two went round three times | It is noteworthy that 33% of birds from Crozet and Kerguelen that circumnavigated Antarctica repeated this journey twice during the same sabbatical year, and two birds completed three circumnavigations |
| Those double and triple trips covered 79,000 to more than 120,000 km | distance covered during the long-distance migrations of these birds that made double or triple circumnavigations ranged between 79,000 and > 120,000 km |
| In the year off between breeding attempts | during the sabbatical year, all birds from Kerguelen migrate to the Pacific Ocean, whereas most from Crozet are sedentary |

## Froy et al. (2013). Age-related variation in reproductive traits in the wandering albatross: evidence for terminal improvement following senescence. Ecology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12092

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In a 30-year study, performance declined with age, then breeding success rose sharply at a bird's final attempt | we use a 30-year study of wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) to disentangle the processes underpinning age-related variation in reproduction. ... we reveal senescent declines in performance are followed by a striking increase in breeding success and a key parental investment trait at the final breeding attempt. |