This bird belongs to the family of seabirds that is typified by their ‘tube-noses.’ Other members of this family are petrels and shearwaters. This tube nose comes in especially handy for an albatross since it spends so much time at sea and survives on seawater. The salt in the water is excreted out of its body in drips from its ‘tube-nose,’ giving the impression that the bird is crying. Apart from seawater, they also need squid or schooling fish for sustenance.

The albatross has a wingspan of up to 11 feet, making it the longest wingspan amongst all birds. This formidable wingspan helps them glide for hours at an end, without feeling the need to rest or even flap their wings. They also enjoy floating on the surface of the sea, though this position can make them vulnerable to aquatic predators.

Even though there is no shelter from the elements of nature, an albatross prefers to nest on cliff edges. There is a reason behind choosing this peculiar location. Because of its size, it’s difficult for an albatross to become airborne from lower altitudes. However, the wind that hits the cliff helps them take off easily and smoothly.

Albatrosses are known to live up to 50 years of age. They only gather on land to breed, forming huge colonies on very remote islands. Some species of albatross mate for life and mating pairs produce only one egg every two years. Both parents take turns at caring for it and the incubation period is really long, sometimes up to 80+ days. The chicks are fed by the parents for 7-8 months, and young albatrosses are ready to fly within three to ten months. The young one will then leave the land and take to the seas for five to ten years, until they are sexual mature to breed themselves.

This grand and majestic bird, the pride of the seas is highly threatened. In fact, nineteen of the 21 species of albatross are on the verge of extinction. These birds are dying at the rate of one every five minutes. It is indeed ironic that the bird that evolved 50 million years ago could be nearly wiped out by just three decades of longline fishing. That, coupled with their low reproductive rates is making the albatross a highly threatened species.