Learn what every symbol on the card means.Full credits and sources at beakbrain.com/symbols
MarinePlatform nestHuge · 2.6 kg
ID tip
The sooty albatross is a medium-sized albatross, measuring about 85 cm (33 in) from head to tail, with a 2 m (6.6 ft) wingspan. Average adult body mass is about 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs), with males weighing more than females. Plumage ranges from a sooty-brown to a sooty-black color depending on the individual, but the head and sometimes tail are typically darker than the rest of the body. Around almost the entire eye, excluding the inner corner, a white ring is present. On the lower jaw, a yellow to orange line is present on the beak, which is otherwise a uniform glossy black.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Sooty Albatross
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 9 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Sooty Albatross
The map shades 3 countries with regular records, and 4 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 Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Réunion.
About the Sooty Albatross
The sooty albatross, also known to sailors as the Quaker, is a species of marine bird belonging to the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is a medium-sized albatross that sports a sooty-brown or sooty-black color. It can be found in the southern Atlantic Ocean, the southern Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean. This bird scavenges for squid, fish, and carrion. Like other albatrosses, these birds mate for life and return to the same breeding spots every season. A single pair will mate every other year on a variety of islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean and the southern Indian Ocean islands. This bird is an endangered species and conservation efforts are taking place.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side: Light-mantled Albatross vs Sooty Albatross
Learn the Sooty Albatross in the BeakBrain App
Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.
Play today's Daily BirdEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.