The
Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys,
is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae.
It is an endangered species on the IUCN Red
List, but is the most widespread and common albatross.
The subspecies T.
m. melanophrys breeds in the Cape Horn area, the Falkland Islands
(mostly Steeple Jason and Grand Jason islands), South Georgia and
in the Indian Ocean sector
on Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands and Heard Island and McDonald
Islands.
The Campbell Albatross (T. impavida) was formerly believed
to be a subspecies of this species.
Black-browed_Albatross,
Beagle_Channel, Argentina
http://en.wikipedia.org
The Black-browed Albatross
is a medium-sized albatross, at 80-95 cm (32-38 in) long
with a 200-235 cm (79-93 in) wingspan and an average weight of 3.7
kg (8.2 lbs).
Like the other albatross species known as "mollymawks",
it can be distinguished from the Wandering Albatross by the wholly
dark upperwings,
dark tail band and smaller size.
http://www.savethealbatross.net/
The features that identify it from other mollymawks are the dark
eyestripe which gives it its name,
a broad black edging to the white underside of its wings, white
head and orange bill, tipped orange.
In young birds the underwings are darker, the head grey and the
bill grey, tipped black.
They are similar to Grey-headed Albatrosses but the latter have
wholly dark bills
and more complete dark head markings.
The Black-browed Albatross
is circumpolar in the southern oceans.
It is the most likely albatross to be found in the North Atlantic
due to a northerly migratory tendency.
http://www.savethealbatross.net/
Although this is a
rare occurrence, on several occasions a Black-browed Albatross has
summered
in Scottish Gannet colonies (Bass Rock, Hermaness and now Sula Sgeir)
for a number of years. Ornithologists believe that it was the same
bird, known as Albert, who lives in north Scotland.
It is believed that the bird was blown off course into the North
Atlantic over 40 years ago,
and it is suspected that the bird is over 47 years old.
Black-browed albatross - overview
BBC
Natural History Unit
http://www.arkive.org
|
From
The TimesMay 9, 2007
Photo: Robert
Vaughan
The lonely albatross looking for love in
all the wrong places
Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter
A lovelorn albatross
has begun its annual search for a mate,
little realising that it has been looking in the wrong half
of the world
for the past 40 years.
The
black-browed albatross, named Albert by sympathetic twitchers,
should be courting in the South Atlantic but has, once again,
been seen on a rocky outcrop between the Outer Hebrides
and the Shetland Isles.
|
A similar
incident took place in the gannet colony in the Faroe Islands
island of Mykines,
where a Black-browed Albatross lived among the gannets for over
30 years.
This incident is the reason why an albatross is referred to as a
'Gannet King'
(Faroese language: súlukongur) in Faroese.
