115-398: An albatross is one of a family of large winged seabirds. Albatross or Albatros may also refer to: Albatross Captured at Midway Atoll Diomedea Thalassarche Phoebastria Phoebetria † Tydea † Plotornis † Diomedavus † Aldiomedes Albatrosses , of the biological family Diomedeidae , are large seabirds related to
230-464: A burden or facing an obstacle is said to have "an albatross around his neck", the punishment given to the mariner who killed the albatross. A widespread myth holds that sailors believe shooting or harming an albatross is disastrous, due in part to the poem; in truth, sailors regularly killed and ate them, as reported by James Cook in 1772. However, other sailors reportedly caught the birds but let them free again, possibly believing that albatrosses were
345-600: A case, and quite certainly the supposed giant albatross femur from the Early Pleistocene Dainichi Formation at Kakegawa , Japan , actually is from one of the last pseudotooth birds. Aldiomedes angustirostris was a uniquely narrow-beaked species from the Pliocene of New Zealand. The albatrosses are a group of large to very large birds; they are the largest of the Procellariiformes. The bill
460-633: A colony of short-tailed albatrosses have been uncovered on the island of Bermuda , and the majority of fossil albatrosses from the North Atlantic have been of the genus Phoebastria (the North Pacific albatrosses); one, Phoebastria anglica , has been found in deposits in both North Carolina and England . Due to convergent evolution in particular of the leg and foot bones, remains of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds (Pelagornithidae) may be mistaken for those of extinct albatrosses; Manu may be such
575-557: A colony prior to beginning to breed, spending many years practising the elaborate breeding rituals and "dances" for which the family is famous. Birds arriving back at the colony for the first time already have the stereotyped behaviours that compose albatross language, but can neither "read" that behaviour as exhibited by other birds nor respond appropriately. The repertoire of behaviour involves synchronised performances of various actions such as preening , pointing, calling, bill clacking, staring, and combinations of such behaviours (such as
690-594: A complex communal courtship involving a group of males chasing a single female in the air, on land, or in the water while pointing, gaping, and thrusting their bills at each other. They can finish the process in a day. The tree-nesting species have a simpler process in which perched males advertise for females. The location of the breeding colony is constrained by the availability of an ample supply of fish to eat, although pelicans can use thermals to soar and commute for hundreds of kilometres daily to fetch food. The Australian pelican has two reproductive strategies depending on
805-615: A fish eater, the Australian pelican is also an eclectic and opportunistic scavenger and carnivore that forages in landfill sites, as well as taking carrion and "anything from insects and small crustaceans to ducks and small dogs". Food is not stored in a pelican's throat pouch, contrary to popular folklore. Pelicans may also eat birds. In southern Africa, eggs and chicks of the Cape cormorant are an important food source for great white pelicans. Several other bird species have been recorded in
920-579: A long history of cultural significance in mythology , and in Christian and heraldic iconography . The name comes from the Ancient Greek word pelekan (πελεκάν), which is itself derived from the word pelekys (πέλεκυς) meaning "axe". In classical times, the word was applied to both the pelican and the woodpecker. The genus Pelecanus was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae . He described
1035-519: A phenomenon known as ground effect to reduce drag and increase lift . As the air flows between the wings and the water surface, it is compressed to a higher density and exerts a stronger upward force against the bird above. Hence, substantial energy is saved while flying. Adult pelicans rely on visual displays and behaviour to communicate, particularly using their wings and bills. Agonistic behaviour consists of thrusting and snapping at opponents with their bills, or lifting and waving their wings in
1150-410: A run up to allow enough air to move under the wing to provide lift . The dynamic soaring of albatrosses has provided inspiration to airplane designers; German aerospace engineer Johannes Traugott and colleagues have charted the albatross's nuanced flight pattern and are looking for ways to apply this to aircraft, especially in the area of drones and unmanned aircraft . Most albatrosses range in
1265-669: A shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing the wing to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure, a morphological adaptation they share with the giant petrels. Albatrosses combine these soaring techniques with the use of predictable weather systems; albatrosses in the Southern Hemisphere flying north from their colonies take a clockwise route, and those flying south fly counterclockwise . Albatrosses are so well adapted to this lifestyle that their heart rates while flying are close to their basal heart rate when resting. This efficiency
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#17328442735431380-487: A similar technique is the Peruvian pelican, but its dives are typically from a lower height than the brown pelican. The Australian and American white pelicans may feed by low plunge-dives landing feet-first and then scooping up the prey with the beak, but they—as well as the remaining pelican species—primarily feed while swimming on the water. Aquatic prey is most commonly taken at or near the water surface. Although principally
1495-402: A single hole has been termed scoring an " albatross ", as a continuation on the birdie and eagle theme. The 19th track of Taylor Swift 's eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department is titled "The Albatross". The Māori used the wing bones of the albatross to carve flutes . In Hawaiian mythology , Laysan albatrosses are considered aumakua , being a sacred manifestation of
1610-420: A threatening manner. Adult pelicans grunt when at the colony, but are generally silent elsewhere or outside breeding season. Conversely, colonies are noisy, as chicks vocalise extensively. Pelicans are gregarious and nest colonially. Pairs are monogamous for a single season, but the pair bond extends only to the nesting area; mates are independent away from the nest. The ground-nesting (white) species have
1725-412: A valid description. Fossil finds from North America have been meagre compared with Europe, which has a richer fossil record. Several Pelecanus species have been described from fossil material, including: Pelicans are very large birds with very long bills characterised by a downcurved hook at the end of the upper mandible, and the attachment of a huge gular pouch to the lower. The slender rami of
1840-532: A varied taxonomic history. Tropicbirds , darters , cormorants, gannets, boobies, and frigatebirds, all traditional members of the order, have since been reclassified: tropicbirds into their own order, Phaethontiformes , and the remainder into the Suliformes. In their place, herons, ibises, spoonbills, the hamerkop, and the shoebill have now been transferred into the Pelecaniformes. Molecular evidence suggests that
1955-436: A week, they are able to put their heads into their parents' pouches and feed themselves. Sometimes before, but especially after being fed the pelican chick may seem to "throw a tantrum" by loudly vocalizing and dragging itself around in a circle by one wing and leg, striking its head on the ground or anything nearby and the tantrums sometimes end in what looks like a seizure that results in the chick falling briefly unconscious;
2070-461: A wingspan of as little as 1.83 m (6.0 ft). The largest is believed to be the Dalmatian, at up to 15 kg (33 lb) and 1.83 m (6.0 ft) in length, with a maximum wingspan of 3 m (9.8 ft). The Australian pelican's bill may grow up to 0.5 m (1.6 ft) long in large males, the longest of any bird. Pelicans have mainly light-coloured plumage, the exceptions being
2185-513: A year to raise a chick from laying to fledging . Albatrosses lay a single subelliptical egg , white with reddish-brown spots, in a breeding season; if the egg is lost to predators or accidentally broken, then no further breeding attempts are made that year. The larger eggs weigh from 200 to 510 g (7.1 to 18.0 oz). The "divorce" of a pair is a rare occurrence, due to the diminished lifetime reproductive success it causes, and usually happens only after several years of breeding failure. All
2300-556: Is also believed to be searching for a mate, having been recorded from Germany , Scandinavia and RSPB Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, England. The use of satellite tracking is teaching scientists a great deal about the way albatrosses range across the ocean to find food. They undertake no annual migration , but disperse widely after breeding; Southern Hemisphere species often undertake circumpolar trips. Evidence also exists of separate ranges for different species at sea. A comparison of
2415-463: Is darker than that of adults. Newly hatched chicks are naked and pink, darkening to grey or black after 4 to 14 days, then developing a covering of white or grey down . Anatomical dissections of two brown pelicans in 1939 showed that pelicans have a network of air sacs under their skin situated across the ventral surface including the throat, breast, and undersides of the wings, as well as having air sacs in their bones. The air sacs are connected to
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#17328442735432530-541: Is highly variable. Pelicans live for 15 to 25 years in the wild, although one reached an age of 54 years in captivity. The diet of pelicans usually consists of fish, but occasionally amphibians , turtles, crustaceans , insects , birds, and mammals are also eaten. The size of the preferred prey fish varies depending on pelican species and location. For example, in Africa, the pink-backed pelican generally takes fish ranging in size from fry up to 400 g (0.9 lb) and
2645-819: Is known to migrate to the inland desert of Australia 's Red Centre , after heavy rains create temporary lakes. White pelicans are also observed at the American state of Utah 's Great Salt Lake , for example, some 600 miles (965 km) from the nearest coastline (the Pacific West Coast). They have also been seen hundreds of miles inland in North America, having flown northwards along the Mississippi River and other large waterways. Long thought to be related to frigatebirds , cormorants , tropicbirds , and gannets and boobies , pelicans instead are most closely related to
2760-510: Is large enough to defend and thermoregulate itself. During this period, the parents feed the chick small meals when they relieve each other from duty. After the brooding period is over, the chick is fed in regular intervals by both parents. The parents adopt alternative patterns of short and long foraging trips, providing meals that weigh around 12% of their body weight (around 600 g, or 21 oz). The meals are composed of fresh squid, fish, and krill, as well as stomach oil , an energy -rich food that
2875-423: Is large, strong, and sharp-edged, with the upper mandible terminating in a large hook. This bill is composed of several horny plates, and along the sides are the two "tubes", long nostrils that give the order its former name (Tubinares, or tubenoses). The tubes of all albatrosses are along the sides of the bill, unlike the rest of the Procellariiformes, where the tubes run along the top of the bill. These tubes allow
2990-635: Is lighter to carry than undigested prey items. This oil is created in a stomach organ known as a proventriculus from digested prey items by most Procellariiformes, and gives them their distinctive musty smell. Albatross chicks take a long time to fledge. In the case of the great albatrosses, it can take up to 280 days; even for the smaller albatrosses, it takes between 140 and 170 days. Like many seabirds, albatross chicks will gain enough weight to be heavier than their parents, and prior to fledging, they use these reserves to build up body condition (particularly growing all their flight feathers), usually fledging at
3105-505: Is predominantly cephalopods , fish , crustaceans , and offal (organ meat), although they also scavenge carrion and feed on other zooplankton . For most species, a comprehensive understanding of diet is known for only the breeding season, when the albatrosses regularly return to land and study is possible. The importance of each of these food sources varies from species to species, and even from population to population; some concentrate on squid alone, others take more krill or fish. Of
3220-569: Is rare in albatrosses, largely due to the low incidence of breeding-site vagrancy. Albatrosses are described in the Handbook of World Birds as "the most legendary of all birds". An albatross is the central emblem in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge , representing the innocence and beauty of God's creation. The albatross metaphor is derived from this poem; someone bearing
3335-415: Is so strong that a study of Laysan albatrosses showed that the average distance between hatching site and the site where a bird established its own territory was 22 m (72 ft). Albatrosses live much longer than other birds; they delay breeding for longer and invest more effort into fewer young. Most species survive upwards of 50 years, the oldest recorded being a Laysan albatross named Wisdom that
3450-494: Is still a matter of some debate, with 21 being the most commonly accepted number) in four genera. These genera are the great albatrosses ( Diomedea ), the mollymawks ( Thalassarche ), the North Pacific albatrosses ( Phoebastria ), and the sooty albatrosses or sooties ( Phoebetria ). The North Pacific albatrosses are considered to be a sister taxon to the great albatrosses, while the sooty albatrosses are considered closer to
3565-665: Is such that the most energetically demanding aspect of a foraging trip is not the distance covered, but the landings, take-offs and hunting they undertake having found a food source. A common assumption is that Albatrosses must be able to sleep in flight, although no direct evidence has ever been obtained. This efficient long-distance travelling underlies the albatross's success as a long-distance forager, covering great distances and expending little energy looking for patchily distributed food sources. Their adaptation to gliding flight makes them dependent on wind and waves, but their long wings are ill-suited to powered flight and most species lack
Albatross (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-423: Is the case today). Pelicans swim well with their strong legs and their webbed feet. They rub the backs of their heads on their preen glands to pick up an oily secretion, which they transfer to their plumage to waterproof it. Holding their wings only loosely against their bodies, pelicans float with relatively little of their bodies below the water surface. They dissipate excess heat by gular flutter – rippling
3795-519: Is the reason albatrosses are for the most part confined to higher latitudes; being unsuited to sustained flapping flight makes crossing the doldrums extremely difficult. The exception, the waved albatross, is able to live in the equatorial waters around the Galápagos Islands because of the cool waters of the Humboldt Current and the resulting winds. Why the albatrosses became extinct in
3910-471: The American Museum of Natural History (1996) and other researchers around the world studied the mitochondrial DNA of all 14 accepted species, finding four, not two, monophyletic groups within the albatrosses. They proposed the resurrection of two of the old genus names, Phoebastria for the North Pacific albatrosses and Thalassarche for the mollymawks, with the great albatrosses retaining Diomedea and
4025-470: The Luberon in southeastern France, and is remarkably similar to modern forms. Its beak is almost complete and is morphologically identical to that of present-day pelicans, showing that this advanced feeding apparatus was already in existence at the time. An Early Miocene fossil has been named Miopelecanus gracilis on the basis of certain features originally considered unique, but later thought to lie within
4140-808: The North Atlantic is unknown for certain, although rising sea levels due to an interglacial warming period are thought to have submerged the site of a short-tailed albatross colony that has been excavated in Bermuda. Some southern species have occasionally turned up as vagrants in the North Atlantic and can become exiled, remaining there for decades. One of these exiles, a black-browed albatross named Albert has been observed travelling to gannet colonies in Scotland for at least 50 years in an attempt to breed. Another black-browed albatross nicknamed Albie has been frequently observed across Northern Europe since 2014, and
4255-539: The Old World and spread into the Americas; this is reflected in the relationships within the genus as the eight species divide into Old World and New World lineages. This hypothesis is supported by fossil evidence from the oldest pelican taxa. Pelicans will frequent inland waterways but are most known for residing along maritime and coastal zones, where they feed principally on fish in their large throat pouches, diving into
4370-535: The Tristan albatross were distinct from the wandering albatross , per Robertson and Nunn, but found that the suggested Gibson's albatross , Diomedea gibsoni , was not distinct from the Antipodean albatross. For the most part, an interim taxonomy of 21 species is accepted by ITIS and many other researchers, though by no means all—in 2004 Penhallurick and Wink called for the number of species to be reduced to 13 (including
4485-460: The black-browed albatross or the grey-headed albatross , is rich with smaller species of squid that tend to sink after death, and scavenging is not assumed to play a large role in their diet. The waved albatross has been observed practising kleptoparasitism , harassing boobies to steal their food, making it the only member of its order to do so regularly. Until recently, albatrosses were thought to be predominantly surface feeders, swimming at
4600-433: The brown and Peruvian pelicans . The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all pelicans become brightly coloured before the breeding season. The eight living pelican species have a patchy, seasonally-dependent yet global distribution, ranging latitudinally from the tropics to the temperate zone . Pelicans are absent from interior Amazonian South America, from polar regions and the open ocean; at least one species
4715-856: The procellariids , storm petrels , and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific . They are absent from the North Atlantic , although fossil remains of short-tailed albatross show they once lived there up to the Pleistocene , and occasional vagrants are found. Great albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, with wingspans reaching up to 2.5–3.5 metres (8.2–11.5 ft) and bodies over 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length. The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera , but disagreement exists over
Albatross (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-481: The shoebill and hamerkop storks (although these two birds are not actually true 'storks'), and are placed in the order Pelecaniformes . Ibises , spoonbills , herons , and bitterns have been classified in the same order. Fossil evidence of pelicans dates back at least 36 million years to the remains of a tibiotarsus recovered from late Eocene strata of Egypt that bears striking similarity to modern species of pelican. They are thought to have evolved in
4945-465: The southern royal albatross is almost completely white except for the ends and trailing edges of the wings in fully mature males, while the Amsterdam albatross has an almost juvenile-like breeding plumage with a great deal of brown, particularly a strong brown band around the chest. Several species of mollymawks and North Pacific albatrosses have face markings like eye patches or have grey or yellow on
5060-468: The 14 then accepted. This expanded taxonomy elevated many established subspecies to full species, but was criticised for not using, in every case, peer reviewed information to justify the splits. Since then, further studies have in some instances supported or disproved the splits; a 2004 paper analysing the mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites agreed with the conclusion that the Antipodean albatross and
5175-459: The Australian white pelican was their next-closest relative. The great white pelican also belonged to this lineage, but was the first to diverge from the common ancestor of the other four species. This finding suggests that pelicans evolved in the Old World and spread into the Americas, and that preference for tree- or ground-nesting is more related to size than genetics. The fossil record shows that
5290-437: The Procellariiformes, it acts as a salt gland . Scientists are uncertain as to its exact processes, but do know in general terms that it removes salt by secreting a 5% saline solution that drips out of their noses or is forcibly ejected. The adult plumage of most of the albatrosses is usually some variation of dark upper-wing and back with white undersides, often compared to that of a gull . The extent of colouration varies:
5405-404: The Procellariiformes, making them and the giant petrels the only members of that order that can walk well on land. Albatrosses, along with all Procellariiformes, must excrete the salts they ingest in drinking sea water and eating marine invertebrates. All birds have an enlarged nasal gland at the base of the bill, above their eyes. This gland is inactive in species that do not require it, but in
5520-523: The Southern Hemisphere from Antarctica to Australia , South Africa , and South America . The exceptions to this are the four North Pacific albatrosses, of which three occur exclusively in the North Pacific, from Hawaii to Japan, California, and Alaska; and one, the waved albatross , breeds in the Galápagos Islands and feeds off the coast of South America. The need for wind to enable gliding
5635-618: The abdomen, where surface protuberances may be caused by viscera changing size and position) to enable the overlying feathers to form more effective heat insulation and also to enable feathers to be held in position for good aerodynamics. Modern pelicans are found on all continents except Antarctica. They primarily inhabit warm regions, although breeding ranges extend to latitudes of 45° South (Australian pelicans in Tasmania ) and 60° North (American white pelicans in western Canada). Birds of inland and coastal waters, they are absent from polar regions,
5750-511: The air to snatch prey. Albatrosses are colonial , usually nesting on isolated islands; where colonies are on larger landmasses, they are found on exposed headlands with good approaches from the sea in several directions, like the colony on the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin , New Zealand. Many Buller's albatrosses and black-footed albatrosses nest under trees in open forest. Colonies vary from
5865-432: The airways of the respiratory system, and the pelican can keep its air sacs inflated by closing its glottis , but how air sacs are inflated is not clear. The air sacs serve to keep the pelican remarkably buoyant in the water and may also cushion the impact of the pelican's body on the water surface when they dive from flight into water to catch fish. Superficial air sacs may also help to round body contours (especially over
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#17328442735435980-458: The albatrosses to measure the exact airspeed in flight; the nostrils are analogous to the pitot tubes in modern aircraft. The albatross needs accurate airspeed measurement to perform dynamic soaring . Like other Procellariiformes, they use their uniquely developed sense of smell to locate potential food sources, whereas most birds depend on eyesight. The feet have no hind toe and the three anterior toes are completely webbed. The legs are strong for
6095-658: The ancestors, and quite possibly also the sacred bird of Kāne . Japanese mythology , by contrast, refers to the short-tailed albatross as ahodori , "fool bird", due to its habit of disregarding terrestrial predators, making it easy prey for feather collectors. Albatrosses are popular birds for birdwatchers , and their colonies are popular destinations for ecotourists . Regular birdwatching trips are taken out of many coastal towns and cities, such as Monterey , Dunedin , Kaikōura , Wollongong , Sydney , Port Fairy , Hobart , and Cape Town , to see pelagic seabirds . Albatrosses are easily attracted to these sightseeing boats by
6210-522: The brown and Peruvian pelicans. The bills, pouches, and bare facial skin of all species become brighter before breeding season commences. The throat pouch of the Californian subspecies of the brown pelican turns bright red, and fades to yellow after the eggs are laid, while the throat pouch of the Peruvian pelican turns blue. The American white pelican grows a prominent knob on its bill that is shed once females have laid eggs. The plumage of immature pelicans
6325-537: The classification of albatrosses, they were lumped into two genera, Phoebetria (the sooty albatrosses, which most closely seemed to resemble the procellarids and were at the time considered "primitive" ) and Diomedea (the rest). Though a case was made for the simplification of the family (particularly the nomenclature), the classification was based on the morphological analysis by Elliott Coues in 1866, and paid little attention to more recent studies and even ignored some of Coues's suggestions. Research by Gary Nunn of
6440-508: The deep ocean, oceanic islands (except the Galapagos), and inland South America, as well as from the eastern coast of South America from the mouth of the Amazon River southwards. Subfossil bones have been recovered from as far south as New Zealand's South Island , although their scarcity and isolated occurrence suggests that these remains may have merely been vagrants from Australia (much as
6555-574: The deployment of fish oil and burley into the sea. Visits to colonies can be very popular; the northern royal albatross colony at Taiaroa Head in Dunedin, New Zealand, attracts 40,000 visitors a year. In spite of often being accorded legendary status, albatrosses have not escaped either indirect or direct pressure from humans. Early encounters with albatrosses by Polynesians and Aleuts resulted in hunting and in some cases extirpation from some islands (such as Easter Island ). As Europeans began sailing
6670-620: The diet of this pelican in South Africa, including Cape gannet chicks on Malgas Island as well as crowned cormorants , kelp gulls , greater crested terns , and African penguins on Dassen Island and elsewhere. The Australian pelican, which is particularly willing to take a wide range of prey items, has been recorded feeding on young Australian white ibis , and young and adult grey teals and silver gulls . Brown pelicans have been reported preying on young common murres in California and
6785-459: The distinguishing characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face, and fully webbed feet. This early definition included frigatebirds, cormorants, and sulids , as well as pelicans. The family Pelecanidae was introduced (as Pelicanea) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. Pelicans give their name to the Pelecaniformes, an order which has
6900-485: The early 20th century. In 1909 alone, over 300,000 albatrosses were killed on Midway Island and Laysan Island for their plumes. Pelican 8, see text Pelicans (genus Pelecanus ) are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae . They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing. They have predominantly pale plumage, except for
7015-409: The egg in stints that last between one day and three weeks. Incubation lasts around 70 to 80 days (longer for the larger albatrosses), the longest incubation period of any bird. It can be an energetically demanding process, with the adult losing as much as 83 g (2.9 oz) of body weight a day. After hatching, the chick, which is semi- altricial , is brooded and guarded for three weeks until it
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#17328442735437130-979: The eggs and nestlings of cattle egrets and nestling great egrets in Baja California , Mexico. Peruvian pelicans in Chile have been recorded feeding on nestlings of imperial shags , juvenile Peruvian diving petrels , and grey gulls . Cannibalism of chicks of their own species is known from the Australian, brown, and Peruvian pelicans. Non-native great white pelicans have been observed swallowing city pigeons in St. James's Park in London, England. Globally, pelican populations are adversely affected by these main factors: declining supplies of fish through overfishing or water pollution, destruction of habitat, direct effects of human activity such as disturbance at nesting colonies, hunting and culling, entanglement in fishing lines and hooks, and
7245-481: The family and none appear to be particularly close to the living forms. They are Murunkus (Middle Eocene of Uzbekistan ), Manu (early Oligocene of New Zealand ), and an undescribed form from the Late Oligocene of South Carolina . The oldest widely accepted fossil albatross is Tydea septentrionalis from the early Oligocene of Belgium. Diomedavus knapptonensis is smaller than all extant albatrosses and
7360-443: The feather trade, leading to the near-extinction of the short-tailed albatross. Of the 22 albatross species recognised by IUCN on their Red List , 15 are threatened with extinction , that is, Critically Endangered ( Tristan albatross and waved albatross and Amsterdam albatross), Endangered (7 species), or Vulnerable (6 species). Six further species are considered as Near Threatened and only one of Least Concern . One of
7475-579: The foraging niches of two related species that breed on Campbell Island , the Campbell albatross and the grey-headed albatross , showed the Campbell albatross primarily fed over the Campbell Plateau , whereas the grey-headed albatross fed in more pelagic , oceanic waters. Wandering albatrosses also react strongly to bathymetry , feeding only in waters deeper than 1,000 metres (3,000 ft); so rigidly did
7590-457: The global population of the brown pelican at 300,000. Numbers of brown pelican plummeted in the 1950s and 1960s, largely as a consequence of environmental DDT pollution, and the species was listed as endangered in the US in 1970. With restrictions on DDT use in the US from 1972, its population has recovered, and it was delisted in 2009. The Peruvian pelican is listed as near threatened because, although
7705-448: The great white pelican prefers somewhat larger fish, up to 600 g (1.3 lb), but in Europe, the latter species has been recorded taking fish up to 1,850 g (4.1 lb). In deep water, white pelicans often fish alone. Nearer the shore, several encircle schools of small fish or form a line to drive them into the shallows, beating their wings on the water surface and then scooping up
7820-410: The gullet head-first. A gull will sometimes stand on the pelican's head, peck it to distraction, and grab a fish from the open bill. Pelicans in their turn sometimes snatch prey from other waterbirds. The brown pelican usually plunge-dives head-first for its prey, from a height as great as 10–20 m (33–66 ft), especially for anchovies and menhaden . The only other pelican to feed using
7935-401: The head and nape. Three albatross species, the black-footed albatross and the two sooty albatrosses , vary completely from the usual patterns and are almost entirely dark brown (or dark grey in places in the case of the light-mantled albatross ). Albatrosses take several years to get their full adult breeding plumage. The wingspans of the largest great albatrosses (genus Diomedea ) are
8050-478: The largest of any bird, exceeding 3.40 m (11.2 ft), although the other species' wingspans are considerably smaller, at as low as 1.75 m (5.7 ft). The wings are stiff and cambered, with thickened, streamlined leading edges. Albatrosses travel long distances with two techniques used by many long-winged seabirds – dynamic soaring and slope soaring . Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from
8165-577: The levelling and clearing of land to eliminate updrafts, and the destruction of annual nesting sites. Tall structures such as traffic control and radio towers killed 3000 birds in flight collisions during 1964–1965 before the towers were taken down. Closure of Naval Air Facility Midway in 1993 eliminated the problem of collisions with military aircraft. By 2008, it was noted that reduction in human activity had helped reduce bird deaths, though lead paint pollution near military buildings continued to poison birds by ingestion. Albatross plumes were popular in
8280-507: The lines, and drown. Identified stakeholders such as governments, conservation organisations, and people in the fishing industry are all working toward reducing this phenomenon. The name "Albatross" is derived from the Arabic al-qādūs or al-ḡaṭṭās (a pelican ; literally, " the diver "), which travelled to English via the Portuguese form Alcatraz (" gannet "), which is also the origin of
8395-575: The local degree of environmental predictability. Colonies of tens or hundreds, rarely thousands, of birds breed regularly on small coastal and subcoastal islands where food is seasonally or permanently available. In arid inland Australia, especially in the endorheic Lake Eyre basin , pelicans breed opportunistically in very large numbers of up to 50,000 pairs, when irregular major floods, which may be many years apart, fill ephemeral salt lakes and provide large amounts of food for several months before drying out again. In all species, copulation takes place at
8510-404: The lower bill and the flexible tongue muscles form the pouch into a basket for catching fish, and sometimes rainwater, though to not hinder the swallowing of large fish, the tongue itself is tiny. They have a long neck and short stout legs with large, fully webbed feet. Although they are among the heaviest of flying birds, they are relatively light for their apparent bulk because of air pockets in
8625-509: The lumping of the Amsterdam albatross with the wandering albatross ), although this paper was itself controversial. Sibley and Ahlquist's molecular study of the evolution of the bird families has put the radiation of the Procellariiformes in the Oligocene period 35–30 million years ago (Mya), though this group probably originated earlier, with a fossil sometimes attributed to
8740-459: The main threats is commercial longline fishing , as the albatrosses and other seabirds —which will readily feed on offal—are attracted to the set bait, become hooked on the lines and drown. An estimated 100,000 albatross per year are killed in this fashion. Unregulated pirate fisheries exacerbate the problem. A study showed that potentially illegal longline fishing activities are highly concentrated in areas of illegally-caught fish species, and
8855-477: The mollymawks. The taxonomy of the albatross group has been a source of much debate. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy places seabirds, birds of prey , and many others in a greatly enlarged order, the Ciconiiformes , whereas the ornithological organisations in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand retain the more traditional order Procellariiformes . The albatrosses can be separated from
8970-442: The muscles and energy to undertake sustained flapping flight. Albatrosses in calm seas rest on the ocean's surface until the wind picks up again as using powered flight is not energetically worthwhile, though they are capable of flight to avoid danger. The North Pacific albatrosses can use a flight style known as flap-gliding, where the bird progresses by bursts of flapping followed by gliding. When taking off, albatrosses need to take
9085-617: The name mollymawk is still well established in some areas, which is a corrupted form of malle-mugge , an old Dutch name for the northern fulmar . The name Diomedea , assigned to the albatrosses by Linnaeus , references the mythical metamorphosis of the companions of the Greek warrior Diomedes into birds. Finally, the name for the order, Procellariiformes, comes from the Latin word procella meaning "a violent wind" or "a storm". The "albatross" designation comprises between 13 and 24 species (the number
9200-464: The name of the former prison Alcatraz . The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word Alcatraz was originally applied to the frigatebird ; the modification to albatross was perhaps influenced by Latin Albus , meaning "white", in contrast to frigatebirds, which are black. They were once commonly known as goonie birds or gooney birds, particularly those of the North Pacific. In the Southern Hemisphere,
9315-429: The nest site; it begins shortly after pairing and continues for 3–10 days before egg-laying. The male brings the nesting material, in ground-nesting species (which may not build a nest) sometimes in the pouch, and in tree-nesting species crosswise in the bill. The female then heaps the material up to form a simple structure. The eggs are oval, white, and coarsely textured. All species normally lay at least two eggs;
9430-449: The number of species . Albatrosses are highly efficient in the air, using dynamic soaring and slope soaring to cover great distances with little exertion. They feed on squid , fish , and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing, or diving. Albatrosses are colonial , nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands, often with several species nesting together. Pair bonds between males and females form over several years, with
9545-467: The order, a seabird known as Tytthostonyx , being found in late Cretaceous rocks (70 Mya). The molecular evidence suggests that the storm petrels were the first to diverge from the ancestral stock, and the albatrosses next, with the procellarids and diving petrels separating later. The earliest fossil albatrosses were found in Eocene to Oligocene rocks, although some of these are only tentatively assigned to
9660-789: The other Procellariiformes both genetically and through morphological characteristics, size, their legs, and the arrangement of their nasal tubes (see below: Morphology and flight ). Within the family, the assignment of genera has been debated for over 100 years. Originally placed into a single genus, Diomedea , they were rearranged by Reichenbach into four different genera in 1852, then lumped back together and split apart again several times, acquiring 12 different genus names in total (though never more than eight at one time) by 1965 ( Diomedea , Phoebastria , Thalassarche , Phoebetria , Thalassageron , Diomedella , Nealbatrus , Rhothonia , Julietata , Galapagornis , Laysanornis , and Penthirenia ). By 1965, in an attempt to bring some order back to
9775-499: The others by placement in the subgenus Leptopelecanus but in fact species with both sorts of appearance and nesting behavior are found in either. DNA sequencing of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes yielded quite different relationships; the three New World pelicans formed one lineage, with the American white pelican sister to the two brown pelicans, and the five Old World species the other. The Dalmatian, pink-backed, and spot-billed were all closely related to one another, while
9890-405: The past due to harvesting for feathers . Albatrosses are threatened by introduced species , such as rats and feral cats that attack eggs, chicks, and nesting adults; by pollution ; by a serious decline in fish stocks in many regions largely due to overfishing ; and by longline fishing . Longline fisheries pose the greatest threat, as feeding birds are attracted to the bait , become hooked on
10005-599: The pelican lineage has existed for at least 36 million years; the oldest known pelican fossil was assigned to Eopelecanus aegyptiacus and was found in late Eocene (middle to late part of the early Priabonian stage/age) deposits of the Birket Qarun Formation within the Wadi Al-Hitan World Heritage Site in Egypt. A more complete fossil pelican of early Oligocene age is known from deposits at
10120-586: The population is estimated by BirdLife International to exceed 500,000 mature individuals, and is possibly increasing, it has been much higher in the past. It declined dramatically during the 1998 El Niño event and could experience similar declines in the future. Conservation needs include regular monitoring throughout the range to determine population trends, particularly after El Niño years, restricting human access to important breeding colonies, and assessing interactions with fisheries. The spot-billed pelican has an estimated population between 13,000 and 18,000 and
10235-616: The presence of pollutants such as DDT and endrin . Most species' populations are more or less stable, although three are classified by the IUCN as being at risk. All species breed readily in zoos, which is potentially useful for conservation management. The combined population of brown and Peruvian pelicans is estimated at 650,000 birds, with around 250,000 in the United States and Caribbean, and 400,000 in Peru. The National Audubon Society estimates
10350-429: The prey. Although all pelican species may feed in groups or alone, the Dalmatian, pink-backed, and spot-billed pelicans are the only ones to prefer solitary feeding. When fishing in groups, all pelican species have been known to work together to catch their prey, and Dalmatian pelicans may even cooperate with great cormorants . Large fish are caught with the bill-tip, then tossed up in the air to be caught and slid into
10465-473: The range of interspecific variation in Pelecanus . The Late Eocene Protopelicanus may be a pelecaniform or suliform – or a similar aquatic bird such as a pseudotooth ( Pelagornithidae ), but is not generally considered a pelecanid . The supposed Miocene pelican Liptornis from Patagonia is a nomen dubium (of doubtful validity), being based on fragments providing insufficient evidence to support
10580-469: The reach of albatross, suggesting that, for some species (like the wandering albatross ), scavenged squid may be an important part of the diet. The source of these dead squid is a matter of debate; some certainly comes from squid fisheries , but in nature it primarily comes from the die-off that occurs after squid spawning and the vomit of squid-eating whales ( sperm whales , pilot whales , and southern bottlenose whales ). The diet of other species, like
10695-735: The reason is not clearly known, but a common belief is that it is to draw attention to itself and away from any siblings who are waiting to be fed. Parents of ground-nesting species sometimes drag older young around roughly by the head before feeding them. From about 25 days old, the young of these species gather in "pods" or " crèches " of up to 100 birds in which parents recognise and feed only their own offspring. By 6–8 weeks they wander around, occasionally swimming, and may practise communal feeding. Young of all species fledge 10–12 weeks after hatching. They may remain with their parents afterwards, but are now seldom or never fed. They are mature at three or four years old. Overall breeding success
10810-419: The risk to bycatch albatrosses is significantly higher in areas where these illegal longline fishing vessels operate. On Midway Atoll, collisions between Laysan albatrosses and aircraft have resulted in human and bird deaths, as well as severe disruptions in military flight operations. Studies were made in the late 1950s and early 1960s that examined the results of control methods such as the killing of birds,
10925-440: The same weight as their parents. Between 15 and 65% of those fledged survive to breed. Albatross chicks fledge on their own and receive no further help from their parents, which return to the nest after fledging, unaware their chick has left. Studies of juveniles dispersing at sea have suggested an innate migration behaviour, a genetically coded navigation route, which helps young birds when they are first out at sea. Hybridization
11040-427: The satellite plots match this contour that one scientist remarked, "It almost appears as if the birds notice and obey a 'No Entry' sign where the water shallows to less than 1000 (metres)". Also, evidence shows different ranges for the two sexes of the same species; a study of Tristan albatrosses breeding on Gough Island showed that males foraged to the west of Gough and females to the east. The albatross diet
11155-1475: The shoebill and the hamerkop form a sister group to the pelicans, though some doubt exists as to the exact relationships among the three lineages. The oldest known record of Pelicans is a right tibiotarsus very similar to those of modern species from the Birket Qarun Formation in the Wadi El Hitan in Egypt, dating to the late Eocene ( Priabonian ), referred to the genus Eopelecanus . P. rufescens P. philippensis P. crispus P. conspicillatus P. onocrotalus P. occidentalis P. thagus P. erythrorhynchos Suliformes Herons (Ardeidae) Ibises and spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) Hamerkop ( Scopus umbretta ) Shoebill ( Balaeniceps rex ) Pelicans ( Pelecanus ) Cladogram based on Hackett et al. (2008). The eight living pelican species were traditionally divided into two groups, one containing four ground-nesters with mainly white adult plumage ( Australian , Dalmatian , great white , and American white pelicans ), and one containing four grey- or brown-plumaged species which nest preferentially either in trees ( pink-backed , spot-billed and brown pelicans ), or on sea rocks ( Peruvian pelican ). The largely marine brown and Peruvian pelicans, formerly considered conspecific , are sometimes separated from
11270-487: The skeleton and beneath the skin, enabling them to float high in the water. The tail is short and square. The wings are long and broad, suitably shaped for soaring and gliding flight, and have the unusually large number of 30 to 35 secondary flight feathers . Males are generally larger than females and have longer bills. The smallest species is the brown pelican, small individuals of which can be no more than 2.75 kg (6.1 lb) and 1.06 m (3.5 ft) long, with
11385-568: The skin of the throat and pouch with the bill open to promote evaporative cooling . They roost and loaf communally on beaches, sandbanks, and in shallow water. A fibrous layer deep in the breast muscles can hold the wings rigidly horizontal for gliding and soaring. Thus, they use thermals for soaring to heights of 3000 m (10,000 ft) or more, combined both with gliding and with flapping flight in V formation , to commute distances up to 150 km (93 mi) to feeding areas. Pelicans also fly low (or "skim") over stretches of water, using
11500-402: The sky-call). Albatrosses are held to undertake these elaborate and painstaking rituals to ensure that the appropriate partner has been chosen and to perfect partner recognition, as egg laying and chick rearing is a huge investment. Even species that can complete an egg-laying cycle in under a year seldom lay eggs in consecutive years. The great albatrosses (i.e., wandering albatross) take over
11615-562: The social travails of the sensitive poète maudit in Charles Baudelaire 's poem L'Albatros : Le Poète est semblable au prince des nuées Qui hante la tempête et se rit de l'archer; Exilé sur le sol au milieu des huées, Ses ailes de géant l'empêchent de marcher. The poet is like this prince of the clouds, who haunts the storm and mocks the archer; but exiled on earth surrounded by jeers, his giant wings make him helpless to walk. In golf , shooting three under par on
11730-470: The sooty albatrosses staying in Phoebetria . While some agree on the number of genera, fewer agree on the number of species. Historically, up to 80 different taxa have been described by different researchers; most of these were incorrectly identified juvenile birds. Based on the work on albatross genera, Robertson and Nunn went on in 1998 to propose a revised taxonomy with 24 different species, compared to
11845-523: The souls of lost sailors, so killing them would bring bad luck. The head of an albatross being caught with a hook is used as the emblem of the Cape Horners , i.e., sailors who have rounded Cape Horn on freighters under sail; captains of such ships even received themselves the title "albatrosses" in the Cape Horners' organisation. A captive albatross tormented by jeering sailors is also a metaphor for
11960-420: The southern albatrosses create large nests for their egg, using grass, shrubs, soil, peat, and even penguin feathers, whereas the three species in the North Pacific make more rudimentary nests. The waved albatross , though, makes no nest and even moves its egg around the pair's territory, as much as 50 m (160 ft), sometimes causing it to lose the egg. In all albatross species, both parents incubate
12075-548: The split between the great albatrosses and the North Pacific albatrosses occurred by 15 Mya. Similar fossil finds in the Southern Hemisphere put the split between the sooties and mollymawks at 10 Mya. The fossil record of the albatrosses in the Northern Hemisphere is more complete than that of the Southern, and many fossil forms of albatross have been found in the North Atlantic , which today has no albatrosses. The remains of
12190-552: The surface and snapping up squid and fish pushed to the surface by currents, predators, or death. The deployment of capillary depth recorders, which record the maximum dive depth undertaken by a bird, has shown that while some species, such as the wandering albatross, do not dive deeper than a metre, some species, such as the light-mantled albatross, have a mean diving depth of almost 5 m (16 ft) and can dive as deep as 12.5 m (41 ft). In addition to surface feeding and diving, they have also been observed plunge diving from
12305-592: The two albatross species found in Hawaii , one, the black-footed albatross , takes mostly fish, while the Laysan feeds on squid. The use of data loggers at sea that record ingestion of water against time (providing a likely time of feeding) suggests that albatrosses predominantly feed during the day. Analysis of the squid beaks regurgitated by albatrosses has shown that many of the squid eaten are too large to have been caught alive, and include midwater species likely to be beyond
12420-625: The use of "ritualised dances", and last for the life of the pair. A breeding season can take over a year from laying to fledging , with a single egg laid in each breeding attempt. A Laysan albatross , named Wisdom , on Midway Island is the oldest-known wild bird in the world; she was first banded in 1956 by Chandler Robbins . Of the 22 species of albatrosses recognised by the IUCN , 21 are listed as at some level of concern; two species are Critically Endangered , seven species are Endangered , six species are Vulnerable , and six species are Near Threatened . Numbers of albatrosses have declined in
12535-512: The usual clutch size is one to three, rarely up to six. Both sexes incubate with the eggs on top of or below the feet; they may display when changing shifts. Incubation takes 30–36 days; hatching success for undisturbed pairs can be as high as 95%, but because of sibling competition or siblicide , in the wild, usually all but one nestling dies within the first few weeks (later in the pink-backed and spot-billed species). Both parents feed their young. Small chicks are fed by regurgitation ; after about
12650-459: The vertical wind gradient . The only effort expended is in the turns at the top and bottom of every such loop. This maneuver allows the bird to cover almost 1,000 km/d (620 mi/d) without flapping its wings. Slope soaring uses the rising air on the windward side of large waves. Albatross have high glide ratios , around 22:1 to 23:1, meaning that for every metre they drop, they can travel forward twenty-two metres. They are aided in soaring by
12765-520: The very dense aggregations favoured by the mollymawks ( black-browed albatross colonies on the Falkland Islands have densities of 70 nests per 100 m ) to the much looser groups and widely spaced individual nests favoured by the sooty and great albatrosses. All albatross colonies are on islands that historically were free of land mammals . Albatrosses are highly philopatric , meaning they usually return to their natal colony to breed. This tendency
12880-740: The water and catching them at/near the water's surface. They can adapt to varying degrees of water salinity , from freshwater and brackish to—most commonly—seawater. They are gregarious birds, travelling in flocks, hunting cooperatively , and breeding colonially . Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees. The relationship between pelicans and people has often been contentious. The birds have been persecuted because of their perceived competition with commercial and recreational fishing. Their populations have fallen through habitat destruction , disturbance, and environmental pollution, and three species are of conservation concern. They also have
12995-426: The world, they, too, began to hunt albatross, "fishing" for them from boats to serve at the table or blasting them for sport. This sport reached its peak on emigration lines bound for Australia, and only died down when ships became too fast to fish from, and regulations forbade the discharge of weapons for safety reasons. In the 19th century, albatross colonies, particularly those in the North Pacific, were harvested for
13110-474: Was ringed in 1956 as a mature adult and hatched another chick in February 2021, making her at least 70 years old. She is the oldest confirmed wild bird and the oldest banded bird in the world. Albatrosses reach sexual maturity slowly, after about five years, but even once they have reached maturity, they do not begin to breed for another few years (even up to 10 years for some species). Young nonbreeders attend
13225-478: Was found in late Oligocene strata of Washington State, USA. Plotornis was formerly often considered a petrel but is now accepted as an albatross. It is from the Middle Miocene of France , a time when the split between the four modern genera was already underway as evidenced by Phoebastria californica and Diomedea milleri , both being mid-Miocene species from Sharktooth Hill , California . These show that
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