Black-browed albatross

Lore & Background

The black-browed albatross is a medium-sized albatross with a dark grey saddle and upperwings contrasting with white underparts. It has a distinctive dark eyebrow and a yellow-orange bill with a darker reddish-orange tip. Juveniles have dark horn-colored bills and a grey head and collar. The species is distinguished from other mollymawks by its dark eyestripe, broad black edging to the white underside of its wings, white head, and orange bill. The closely related Campbell albatross is very similar but has a pale eye.

Reader's Guide

The black-browed albatross is the most widespread and common member of the albatross family, with an estimated 1,220,000 birds alive as of 2005. It breeds on 12 islands across the southern oceans, including the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the Crozet Islands. The species has experienced a 67% decline in population over 64 years, leading to its classification as endangered by the IUCN until 2013. Major threats include longline and trawl fishing, particularly around the Patagonian Shelf and South Georgia. Conservation efforts include monitoring on half of its breeding islands, protection of most breeding sites as reserves, and inclusion in international agreements such as the Convention on Migratory Species Appendix II and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels Annex 1. The species is also notable for its vagrancy, with individuals occasionally summering in Scottish and Faroese gannet colonies, and one individual named Albert has been sighted repeatedly in the North Atlantic.

Did You Know?

• The black-browed albatross can have a natural lifespan of over 70 years.
• It is the most likely albatross to be found in the North Atlantic due to a northerly migratory tendency.
• The species has been observed stealing food from other species.
• A black-browed albatross lived among gannets on the Faroe Islands for over 30 years, leading to the local name 'gannet king' (súlukongur).