Laysan Albatross

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Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Laysan Albatross

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Laysan Albatross

The map shades 5 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Canada, Taiwan.

About the Laysan Albatross

The Laysan albatross is a large seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to 99.7% of the population. This small gull-like albatross is the second-most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands, with an estimated population of 1.18 million birds, and is currently expanding its range to new islands. The Laysan albatross was first described as Diomedea immutabilis by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in 1893, on the basis of a specimen from Laysan Island.

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

Easily confused with

Waved AlbatrossPhoebastria irrorataThese are medium-sized albatrosses, measuring 80 to 90 cm (31 to 35 in) in length with a wingspan of 220–250 cm (7.2–8.2 ft). Short-tailed AlbatrossPhoebastria albatrusThe short-tailed albatross is a medium-sized albatross, with a wingspan of 213 to 240 cm (6.99–7.87 ft), a length of 84 to 94 cm (33–37 in) and a body weight that can be 4.3 to 8.5 kg (9.5–18.7 lb). Black-footed AlbatrossPhoebastria nigripesThe black-footed albatross is a small member of the albatross family (while still large compared to most other seabirds) that has almost all black plumage.

Side by side: Black-footed Albatross vs Laysan Albatross · Laysan Albatross vs Waved Albatross