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  Profile

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  In flight

Albatrosses

Wandering Albatross

Diomedea exulans

• rare
• 80 km/h
• Vulnerable

Largest wingspan of any living bird at nearly 12 feet. Circumnavigates the globe on ocean winds.

Population

~20,100 mature individuals (roughly 8,000 breeding pairs annually), declining

Habitat

Open Southern Ocean waters; breeds on subantarctic islands in open or patchy vegetation (grassland/tussock) near exposed ridges and hillocks

Fun fact

The wandering albatross has the longest wingspan of any living bird, up to about 3.7 m tip to tip, letting it glide for hours over the Southern Ocean without a single wingbeat.

Range

Circumpolar Southern Ocean (roughly 28°S to 60°S); breeds on South Georgia, Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, and Macquarie Island

Diet

Cephalopods (especially squid), small fish, and crustaceans, taken at the sea surface; scavenges bait, discards, and offal around fishing vessels

Size

1.2 m

Wingspan

3.1 m

Lifespan

50 years