Albatross Family Diomedeidae One Of More Than A Dozen Species
 |
| Albatross Family Diomedeidae One Of More Than A Dozen Species |
Albatross (family Diomedeidae), one of more than a dozen species of large seabirds that collectively make up the family Diomedeidae (order Procellariiformes). Because of their docility on the ground, many albatrosses are known by the common names mollemok (Dutch for "mad gull") and gooney. Albatrosses are among the most spectacular gliders of all birds, able to stay aloft in bad weather for hours without flapping their very long, narrow wings. In still air, albatrosses find it difficult to hold their strong bodies high and prefer to rest on the surface of the water. Albatrosses, like other oceanic birds, drink seawater and, although they usually feed on squid, they are also seen accompanying ships to feed on rubbish.
short-tailed albatross
Albatrosses only come ashore to breed. This activity occurs in colonies usually established on remote oceanic islands, where groups and pairs exhibit mating behaviour that includes the display of wing extension and closure accompanied by a loud whine. The single large white egg, laid on the ground or in a stacked nest, is incubated by the parents in turn. The young albatross grows very slowly, especially in the larger species; it reaches the remiges in 3 to 10 months, then spends 5 to 10 years at sea, crossing several remiges before resting to mate. Albatrosses are long-lived and may be among the few birds that die of old age.
Animals: fact or fiction?
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but kincagos, blue backs and mustard cheeses are still alive and well in these materials! These are just some of the amazing animals featured in this fact or fiction quiz.
Sailors once had a great fear of the albatross; they held that killing an albatross would bring bad luck, a superstition reflected in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Frost of the Ancient Mariner". Despite this superstition, the birds were often hung on hooks and fed to them as meat by sailors. The fabric of the foot could be moulded into a tobacco bag and the hollow long bones were used as tubular rods. At some point, professional feather hunters raided the breeding grounds. North Pacific species were shot in large numbers for their feathers, which were used in the hat trade and as swan bows.
About the site
Royal Albatross Cam, known since 2016 as RoyalCam, is located at the tip of the windswept Otago Peninsula in Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve. Taiaroa Head (or Pukekura) is world famous as the only mainland albatross colony in the southern hemisphere and was an important site for Maori and (later) European settlers. With nearly 10,000 seabirds resident at Taiaroa Head, the wildlife viewing opportunities here are enormous, but timing is everything. Some species are only present for part of the year, others are nocturnal with their wild activities; others, like the giant albatross, prefer to fly away in bad weather.
About Albatross
Through the efforts of the New Zealand Department of Conservation, nests of Northern Royal Albatrosses have been tethered at Taiaroa Head and their individual histories recorded during previous nesting seasons. The Royal Albatross camera has shown a different breeding pair each year since the start of the 2015/2016 season (click to read about previous breeding seasons).
The 2020/21 Royal Albatross season featured returning performances from the pair of breeds LGL (female, named after lemon/green/lime coloured leg bands) and LGK (male, lemon/lime/black), last seen on camera in 2018/2019. The female laid the pair's egg on 7 November and hatched on 24 January 2021.
Full species calculation
About albatross conservation efforts
The nesting area on the Taiaroa Head outcrop on the Otago Peninsula is a "hot spot" - a protected area where ground temperatures in summer can reach over 120°F (50°C). These conditions are not ideal for seabirds that are best adapted to Antarctic conditions, but because albatrosses choose this location, several strategies are used to increase the chances of successful breeding.
In the past, adults and chicks could die of heat exhaustion. There is now a sprinkler system that waters the nest to cool the birds on hot days.
Hot conditions during hatching are a major problem as the adult insects will rise to cool down, putting the egg at risk of fly attack. Albatross chicks can take up to 6 days to complete hatching. The laying of fly eggs or live worms in the egg during this period often results in the death of the chick.
Staff now place cotton wool soaked in peppermint oil in the nest - the strong smell of the herb masks the smell of the hatching chick and acts as a deterrent to the flies. This has reduced fly strike.
Predator traps for feral cats and cats are used in what may be New Zealand's longest running predator control programme.
It is important to provide extra food for chicks if a parent disappears before the chick hatches. Otherwise a chick can starve to death, as it takes both parents all their energy to raise a chick, after which they need a year without breeding. Increasingly, chicks from both parents are given supplementary feed if the parents, for whatever reason, do not provide enough food to survive the winter.
About the team
Several groups are working to help raise awareness of the nesting Northern Royal Albatross at Taiaroa Head. The New Zealand Department of Conservation employs a team of rangers who assist in the day-to-day operational efforts at the colony. In addition, the publicly accessible Royal Albatross Centre (also located at Taiaroa Head) offers visitors the opportunity to view wildlife and learn about the conservation importance of the thousands of seabirds that nest there.