Species group · Birds

Albatrosses

WAnimals has 5 species of albatross, in the family Diomedeidae.

5 species

1 family

20 countries

20 parks

Weight: 2.7 kg – 12.7 kg
Length: 70 cm – 1.4 m
Lifespan: 40 – 70 years

Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 5.

All 5 species of albatrosses on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Vulnerable

Southern Royal Albatross

Diomedea epomophora

15 countries5 parks1 dive site

Least Concern

Black-browed Albatross

Thalassarche melanophris

17 countries19 parks

Vulnerable

Wandering Albatross

Diomedea exulans

17 countries9 parks

Endangered

Grey-Headed Albatross

Thalassarche chrysostoma

11 countries11 parks

Critically Endangered

Waved Albatross

Phoebastria irrorata

2 countries1 park

Conservation status

2 Vulnerable1 Least Concern1 Endangered1 Critically Endangered

4 species in this group are in a threatened category according to the IUCN.

Where they live

Recorded in 20 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

It can glide thousands of kilometres with barely a wingbeat thanks to dynamic soaring: it exploits the difference in wind speed between the water's surface and fifteen metres up, and a tendon locks the outstretched wing without any muscular effort.
From Southern Royal Albatross
The colony at Taiaroa Head in New Zealand is the only great albatross colony in the world on the mainland and open to the public, and it has been monitored continuously since 1938.
From Southern Royal Albatross
It can live for several decades and pairs monogamously for life, performing elaborate synchronised courtship rituals that are repeated every breeding season.
From Black-browed Albatross
Its recovery is one of the best pieces of news in recent marine conservation: it went from Endangered in 2003 to Least Concern in 2013 thanks to bird-scaring lines, weighted hooks and night setting on longlines.
From Black-browed Albatross
An individual called Albert has been turning up every spring for more than three decades at a gannet colony in Scotland, thousands of kilometres from his own species, in search of a mate he will never find.
From Black-browed Albatross
It pairs monogamously for life and can cover more than 10,000 km a year without ever returning to land outside the breeding season.
From Wandering Albatross
It eats cephalopods — squid above all — along with small fish and crustaceans taken at the surface.
From Wandering Albatross
It breeds every other year rather than annually, laying a single egg.
From Wandering Albatross

Ecosystems

See every species group · Explore the species one by one