Wandering Albatross

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Wandering Albatross
Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Tubular noses (Procellariiformes)
Family : Albatrosses (Diomedeidae)
Genre : Diomedea
Type : Wandering Albatross
Scientific name
Diomedea exulans
Linnaeus , 1758

The wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans ) is a very large bird art from the family of albatrosses . It is the bird with the largest wingspan in the world.

In Europe the wandering albatross is an extremely rare wanderer . In the 20th century it was observed only once in 1957 in Sicily and in 1963 in Poland.

description

Egg of the Wandering Albatross
Wandering albatross in flight

Wandering albatrosses reach a body length of 117 cm and a wingspan of over 350 cm and a maximum weight of 7 kg. An adult, fully colored wandering albatross has - apart from the narrow, black border on the rear edge of the wing and the black tips of the wings - white plumage on the underside . The upper wing-coverts are also white with some black spots. The strong beak and feet are pale flesh-colored, the eyes are dark brown. This color is only shown by wandering albatrosses that are several years old. Young animals have predominantly brown plumage, which becomes increasingly white over the years. The final brown appears as a speckled band across the chest.

Way of life

The wandering albatross spends 90% of its life in the open sea. The breeding season is only every two years; it takes almost a year to raise the only chick. The wandering albatross is monogamous; H. it breeds with the same breeding partner every breeding season . The nest is built from soil and plants and can form a high tower. Like many bird and animal species in the subpolar and polar regions, it relies on a low reproductive rate and old age. Wandering albatrosses typically live to be 60 to 70 years old, but they can live to be over 80 years old. Like all albatrosses, the wandering albatross forms colonies that normally comprise several hundred breeding pairs. The diet consists of various marine animals such as fish or squid.

threat

There are currently around 26,000 wandering albatrosses. However, in recent decades, many colonies have grown in size due to the many threats such as v. a. caused by humans, halved. Currently the stock will decrease by 30% in three generations (approx. 60 years). This corresponds to an annual decrease of 0.5%, which means 130 fewer copies per year.

The greatest threat to the wandering albatross is longline fishing . The birds swallow the bait in a few minutes until it sinks, and are dragged along and drown. A large number of seabirds perish every year. In addition, predators (such as introduced dogs and cats, especially rats ) pose a major problem in that they eat the offspring or eggs. Many sub-Antarctic islands have such predators, but some have control programs such as B. the noteworthy rat control program of the South Georgia Heritage Trust .

Distribution area

Wandering albatrosses breed on the sub-Antarctic islands. The most important brood islands are:

The following table gives an overview of the population on some of the breeding islands:

island population date trend
South Georgia, Prion Island 1,553 breeding pairs 2012 Decrease by 4% annually
Bird Island approx. 1000 breeding pairs 2012 Stable
Annenkov Island > 500 breeding pairs 2012 slight decrease
Prince Edward Island 1,850 breeding pairs 2003 Stable
Marion Island 1,600 breeding pairs 2008
Crozet Islands 2,000 breeding pairs 1997 declining
Kerguelen 1,100 breeding pairs 1997
Macquarie Island 15 breeding pairs 2006
total 26,000 copies 2012 30% decrease in 3 generations (60 years)

On the open sea they can be found in the entire Southern Ocean , they are particularly common between the Auckland Islands and Macquarie, the sea area around the Bounty Islands and in the sea area between the Chatham Islands and Dunedin in New Zealand . They can also be seen frequently on the Drake Passage . However, it is possible that there will only be more sightings there because this is the main route of shipping traffic to Antarctica .

Trivia

Geographical features named after the bird include the Albatross Crest , Gony Point, and Wanderer Valley .

literature

Web links

Commons : Wandering Albatross  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g James McQuilken: The Mists of Time . Ed .: Rolf Stange. 1st edition. Spitzbergen.de, Dassow 2012, ISBN 978-3-937903-15-6 , chap. "Current Population Development and Threat", p. 137 (English: The Mists of Time . Translated by Rolf Stange, page 21).
  2. ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel , Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds. Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 , p. 209.
  3. ^ Environment - South Georgia Heritage Trust. Retrieved September 15, 2018 (American English).
  4. ↑ Mike Domnick: PolarNEWS Expeditions Catalog 2 . Ed .: PolarNWES. No. 2019 | 2020 . PolarNEWS, S. 131 .
  5. ^ Wandering Albatross - Bing video. Retrieved September 19, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Ruedi Küng: PolarNEWS December 2018 . In: Christian Hug (Ed.): Polar News (=  PolarNEWS ). 27th edition. tape 1 , 27 / December 2018. PolarNEWS, Königstein September 20, 2018, Festival of the Senses, p. 73 (Chamorro: PolarNEWS December 2018. ).
  7. ↑ a b c Birding Downunder 2014 | Polar cruises. Retrieved September 19, 2018 .
  8. ^ Christian Walther: Antarktis . 10th edition. Conrad Stein Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-86686-965-3 , p. 255 .