Northern Royal Albatross

Otago Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand.

The royal northern albatross is a large bird with a wingspan of around 3 metres, which is a bit smaller than the wandering albatross and southern royal albatross. There are believed to be a total of about 20,000 royal northern albatrosses left on the planet and they are classified as an endangered species. Outside the breeding season, northern royal albatrosses range widely throughout the Southern Ocean, though rare in Antarctic waters. The bird in the picture was photographed close its nesting site as it returned from the sea.

Feeding

Along with shearwaters and petrels, albatrosses belong to the order procellariformes known as the"tubenoses". All tubenoses have nostrils enclosed in tubes. Albatrosses have two tubes, located on either side of the bill. The tubular nostrils may aid the albatross's highly developed sense of smell enabling them to detect krill, zooplankton, fish and their favourite food, squid. Tubenoses are "pelagic" and an "aerial" species spending most of their time in flight feeding at sea.

Breeding

The royal northern albatross nests mainly on sub-Antarctic Islands with the largest colony of 6500-7000 birds on the Chatham Islands. The colony of 60 birds on the Otago Penninsula in New Zealand is the only place where albatrosses of any species nest on land inhabited by homo sapiens. Albatrosses are monogamous and may pair for life. Albatross colonies are densely populated but pairs breed only "biennially" (once every two years). The nest of feathers, vegetation and mud is built on grassy summits and slopes. They lay a single egg and incubation and chick rearing are shared by both parents and are long compared with most other birds.

Wildfile Special

• Albatross' tubenoses are part of an amazing adaptation enabling them to drink seawater. They have evolved nasal glands to deal with high salinity. These nasal glands pump sodium and chloride ions from the blood stream into the nostril tubes as secretions.