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A wise old bird -

The world's oldest-known bird has laid an egg—at age 74! Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, pictured here on the left, was spotted early December 2024 with the egg and a new partner at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean.

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Born in 1950 -

Wisdom, identified by a band numbered Z333, was first tagged in 1956 when she was about five. Her last offspring hatched in 2021. She is thought to have had more than 30 chicks in her lifetime.

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High flyer -

In 1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and Hawaii was not yet a US state. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has kept an eye on Wisdom ever since. Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that this remarkable bird has flown over 3,000,000 miles (4,800,000 km) since 1956. That's approximately 120 times the circumference of the Earth!

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Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge -

The Laysan albatross is known as Mōlī in the Hawaiian language. In Hawaiian mythology, Laysan albatrosses are considered aumakua, being a sacred manifestation of the ancestors. The Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge serves as a breeding ground for nearly 70% of the world's Laysan albatrosses and almost one third of the world's black-footed albatrosses.

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The long-lived Laysan -

The typical lifespan of a Laysan albatross is 50-odd years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Biologists are unaware of any other birds even close to Wisdom's age.

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Regular visitor -

Over the decades Wisdom has continued to fly to Midway every year to nest, even though she has previously lost eggs and, in 2021, her mate for many years, Akeakamai.

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Monogamous lifestyle -

Albatrosses are monogamous, and most species appear to mate for life. Mating pairs produce a single egg and take turns caring for it. Over the years, Wisdom has likely produced 50 to 60 eggs. And with her new partner, she's set to bring another chick into the world.

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Wandering albatross -

The albatross is a seafaring superstar. These birds are known for their incredible wingspans and flying ability. The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird in the world today, stretching up to 11.5 feet (3.5 m) across.

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Southern royal albatross -

The southern royal albatross is similar in size to the wandering albatross. These two seabirds—the great albatrosses—have been known to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean three times in one year, covering more than 75,000 miles (120,000 km).

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Soaring success -

Albatrosses can glide for hours without rest or even a flap of their wings. The secret to the birds' unflappable flight is their ability to soar across the wind and slightly into it, climbing from just above the waves to a height of about 50 feet (15 m). They then turn to face downwind before repeating the cycle. This swooping ascent and descent movement requires little effort and can propel the wandering albatross to speeds of up to 65 feet (20 m) per second.

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Diving deep -

Albatrosses are also excellent swimmers and can dive to depths of 10 feet (3 m) in search of food. They rarely settle on the water's surface though, as doing so makes them vulnerable to marine predators, especially hungry sharks.

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Clumsy on the ground -

While a picture of subliminal grace in the air, taking off from land can be a bit of a challenge for great albatrosses. Adult birds can weigh from 13 to 28 lbs (5.9 to 12.7 kg) and their narrow wings, designed to keep them aloft over the sea, need wind and speed. They require a bit of a runway, preferably with a headwind, to get airborne.

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Sooty albatross -

The small- and medium-sized members of the albatross family, the sooty albatrosses are faced with less of an uphill struggle when taking off, but still boast an average wing span of 6.5 feet (2 m). Rather than dive for its dinner, the sooty albatross is a surface feeder, scavenging for already-deceased and floating prey.

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Light-mantled albatross -

Unlike its sooty cousin, the light-mantled albatross will sometimes submerge itself to take food. This is a small albatross and a noisy one at that, its loud shrill call resembling that of a piccolo trumpet. And unlike others of its ilk, the light-mantled albatross breeds in loose colonies or small groups, and sometimes is a solitary breeder.

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Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross -

Some smaller members of the albatross family like the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross are also known as mollymawks.

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Indian yellow-nosed albatross -

The Indian yellow-nosed albatross is one of the smallest mollymawks. Nonetheless, it's still a formidable flyer, often foraging up to 930 miles (1,500 km) from the colony when feeding during incubation.

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Conservation status -

Of the 22 species of albatrosses recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 21 are listed as at some level of concern. The waved albatross (pictured) is listed as Critically Endangered. In fact, the population is highly vulnerable to a catastrophic collapse, or even extinction.

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Critically endangered species -

The Tristan albatross is also critically endangered. The main threat to the species is believed to be longline fishing and, believe it or not, attacks from mice. The Tristan albatross is endemic to the South Atlantic islands of the Tristan da Cunha group and, more specifically, Gough Island. Mice are known to attack and kill chicks that, while huge in comparison to the rodents, are unable to properly defend themselves.

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Natural and man-made threats -

Introduced predators such as stoats, ferrets, and feral cats are also one of the biggest risks to newborn albatross chicks. Giant petrels are known to pluck pre-fledgling chicks from their nests. Man-made threats include pollution and birds being taken as bycatch by longline fisheries, as well as by trawl and gillnet fisheries.

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The plastic menace -

The birds on Midway have to deal with one of the biggest single menaces to marine wildlife on the planet: plastic waste. Chicks are often inadvertently fed plastic bits, which contributes to the death of as many as 200,000 chicks, about 40% of the total on the island, before they get a chance to take flight. Many of them succumb to dehydration, the plastic taking up too much room in their stomachs for proper nourishment. Pictured is a juvenile albatross on Midway sitting amid piles of discarded trash including bottles, fishing floats, and other assorted debris.

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Killer pollution -

The remains of this Laysan albatross chick show the plastic ingested before its death, including a bottle cap and lighter.

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Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels -

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) was established in 2004, and created in order to halt the drastic decline of seabird populations in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly of albatrosses and petrels. The agreement requires that measures be taken by signatory governments to protect breeding colonies such as that on Steeple Jason Island in the Falkland Islands, the largest albatross colony in world with an estimated 180,000 pairs. Over 70% of the global population of black-browed albatross breed there.

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Tracking their progress -

To monitor the birds' movements, ACAP is involved in placing Argos tags on species such as the wandering albatross (pictured). Argos is a satellite-based location estimation and data collection system. It's used in satellite telemetry to provide scientists with the exact location of a bird at a given point in time.

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A big deal! -

Here, two ornithologists are dwarfed by a juvenile wandering albatross as they ring birds on Possession Island in northern Queensland, Australia. The procedure needs to be undertaken with care. An albatross beak can serve as a formidable weapon when the bird feels threatened.

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Seabird hotspot -

New Zealand is a true hot spot for the seabirds, with nearly half of the world's 22 albatross species breeding here. The Māori name for albatrosses is toroa. Traditionally, Māori have a strong connection to the albatross and particularly value their white feathers.

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A rare case of exhaustion -

On rare occasions, these seemingly tireless feathered aviators do lack energy. It was in New Zealand in 2001 that a wandering albatross hitched a ride to Auckland on a container ship from Nelson, and seemed reluctant to leave the deck, despite his species' reputation as a nomad. The Department of Conservation was called in when the boat docked at Onehunga, where a checkup by a veterinarian found it was probably suffering from exhaustion. After recuperating at a bird rescue center, the giant bird was released, refreshed and refueled.

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The albatross in popular culture -

An albatross is the central emblem in 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The bird is regarded as a symbol of good luck by superstitious sailors; in the poem, one lands on their ship and guides the vessel out of the ice where it is stuck. But the albatross is then shot by the Mariner, its death symbolizing the burden of the Mariner's sin.

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Myth and superstition -

A widespread myth holds that sailors believe shooting or harming an albatross is disastrous, the bird being seen as harboring the souls of lost sailors.

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Manmade albatross -

Early aviators were inspired by the ease of flight and long periods in the air enjoyed by albatrosses. In 1868, the first aircraft ever to be photographed was a glider called L'Albatros, piloted by French sailor and sea captain Jean-Marie Le Bris (1817–1872) at Cap Griz-Nez.

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Gossamer Albatross -

On June 12, 1979, the Gossamer Albatross, a human-powered aircraft, completed a successful crossing of the English Channel. It was piloted by amateur cyclist and pilot Bryan Allen using just pedal power. Coincidentally, Gossamer Albatross made landfall at Cap Griz-Nez.

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A survivor -

Meanwhile, Wisdom has sparked special joy among scientists monitoring her progress on Midway. They are "optimistic that the egg will hatch," and that she'll be fit enough to raise another chick.

Sources: (BBC) (CNN) (CBS News) (The New Zealand Herald) (British Antarctic Survey) (National Geographic) (ACAP) (World Wide Fund for Nature) (Friends of Midway Atoll) (IUCN) (Movement Ecology) (Wildlife Computers Inc.)

See also: Beautiful images of birds in flight

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