Albatrosses are part of the seabird family and of the order tubenoses. Altogether they are divided into 21 different types and most of them are found in the southern oceans.
Albatrosses have long and tapered wings that can reach a span of over 12 feet. The seabirds can weigh up to 26 pounds and are therefore among the heaviest flying birds in the world. The beaks of the albatross are relatively large, pointed, strong, and colored yellow or pink. Like all tubenoses, the albatross has two small tubes on its beak to excrete the seawater it has ingested. Albatrosses are good swimmers and can stay afloat even in rough seas.
Albatrosses live almost exclusively in the seas of the southern hemisphere. In Costa Rica they are usually only found after strong storms that brought them there. Since they can only fly with sufficient wind, they sometimes even have to stay in the “wrong” hemisphere for several years.
The seabirds live almost exclusively on the high seas and only come on land to breed. They often look for small, grassy and uninhabited islands where there are good take-off and landing opportunities.
Albatrosses need a minimum wind speed of 7 miles per hour to fly. If it is lower, they must remain on land or on the water until more favorable winds arise. In order not to exhaust themselves too quickly they use what is known as dynamic gliding. They can travel very long distances just above the sea and maneuver almost perfectly even during a violent storm.
Albatrosses tend to have major takeoff and landing problems. In order to be able to take off, they have to complete a long take-off run in order to reach a sufficiently high speed. When landing sometimes the birds land at too high a speed causing rollovers and broken wings or legs. In breeding colonies there are even extra runways for these difficult undertakings on which no nests are built. At sea, on the other hand, albatrosses do not have such problems.
The main food of the giant seabirds is squid. At night the squid swim up from the deep sea and are often eaten by schools of albatrosses. In addition, small fish, crustaceans, jellyfish and carrion are important parts of the albatrosses diet. Fishing boats are a popular destination for albatrosses. They use the updraft generated by the ship to fly and eat the fish waste thrown overboard.
The reproductive cycle of albatrosses is surprisingly long. It usually takes up to a year from the time the nest is built until the chicks become independent. When they first meet, albatrosses display complex courtship behavior. They are always in sync. Once a pair is formed they remain together for life reuniting at their nest site every other year. The male arrives a few days before the female to defend the shared nest from rivals. When the two meet again there are also some ritualized gestures but not nearly as complex as those of the courtship ritual.
Albatross colonies can contain several thousand nests. The largest of these colonies is the laysanal albatross where up to 100,000 pairs breed together. The nests mostly consist of mosses, grass and mud. Some species dig small hollows and others do not build a nest at all. The female only lays one egg, which is then incubated by both partners for about 11 weeks. The young is then watched over for a further 3 to 5 weeks without interruption after which the parents leave it for a few hours. Nevertheless, there is a high mortality rate among young birds. Up to 70% do not survive their first year.
Albatrosses can get quite old compared to other birds. Many larger species do not breed for the first time until they are 10-12 years old. The oldest known bird was over 62 years old.
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