Salvin's Albatross
Thalassarche salvini
The Salvin's Albatross (Thalassarche salvini) is a rare albatross found in 7 countries, weighing about 3.9 kg. Salvin's albatross or Salvin's mollymawk, is a large seabird that breeds mainly on the Bounty Islands of New Zealand, with scant amounts on islands across the Southern Ocean.
About the Salvin's Albatross
Salvin's albatross or Salvin's mollymawk, is a large seabird that breeds mainly on the Bounty Islands of New Zealand, with scant amounts on islands across the Southern Ocean. A medium-sized mollymawk, it was long considered to be a subspecies of the shy albatross.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Salvin's albatross is about 90 cm (35 in) and 2.56 m (8.4 ft) across the wings. It weighs 3.3–4.9 kg (7.3–10.8 lb) and is, alongside the shy albatross, the largest of the mollymawk or small albatross group. The adult bird has a silver-grey crown. Its face, upper throat, and upper mantle are grey, and its back, upperwing, and tail are grey-black. It has a white rump and underparts with a black thumbmark on underwing and black narrow leading and trailing edges on the wing and black wing tips.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, South Africa, French Polynesia.
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, July, October, November, December, with peak activity in December. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Salvin's Albatross?
- Salvin's albatross is about 90 cm (35 in) and 2.56 m (8.4 ft) across the wings. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Salvin's Albatross?
- The Salvin's Albatross is a huge sized bird weighing about 3.9 kg.
- Where can you see a Salvin's Albatross?
- The Salvin's Albatross occurs in 7 countries, including New Zealand, Chile, Australia and Peru.
- What birds look similar to a Salvin's Albatross?
- The Salvin's Albatross is most easily confused with the Grey-headed Albatross, the Buller's Albatross and the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross.
- Is the Salvin's Albatross endangered?
- The Salvin's Albatross is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Salvin's Albatross for real
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