Bird Guide

Chatham Albatross

Thalassarche eremita

VulnerableInvertebratesPlatform nestHuge · 3.9 kg

About the Chatham Albatross

The Chatham albatross, also known as the Chatham mollymawk or Chatham Island mollymawk, is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the shy albatross. It is the smallest of the shy albatross group.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

ID tip

The Chatham albatross is a mid sized albatross, weighing 3.1 to 4.7 kg (6.8–10.4 lb) and it has a length of 90 cm (35 in). The adult has a dark grey crown, face, upper mantle, back, upperwing, tail, and throat. They have a white rump and underparts. They also have a black thumbmark on the leading edge of the underwings, and a black tip on the wings. Their bill is yellow with a dark spot on the tip of the lower mandible. Finally, they have an orange cheek stripe. The juveniles have more extensive grey and their bill is blue-grey with black tips on both mandibles.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where the Chatham Albatross lives

Regular rangeRare visitor

Recorded as a rare visitor in Australia, Peru, United States, French Polynesia.

When to see the Chatham Albatross

Peak activity in December · a summer visitor species across most of its range

Easily confused with

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