Laysan Albatross

Phoebastria immutabilis

Glides effortlessly across entire oceans. Your message will arrive eventually... from very far away.

Population: ~1.6 million mature individuals (~800,000 breeding pairs); population declined ~32% during 1992-2002 but rebounded by 2004-2005, now considered stable/increasing overall
Habitat: Pelagic seabird of the open North Pacific, foraging chiefly in epipelagic/mesopelagic waters; nests colonially on low-lying sandy beaches and rocky shorelines of tropical and subtropical islands and atolls
Fun fact: A Laysan Albatross named Wisdom, banded as an adult (at least 5 years old) in 1956 on Midway Atoll, is the world's oldest known wild bird — estimated at ~74 years old as of a confirmed sighting/nesting attempt in December 2024, decades after typical species longevity.
Range: Breeds mainly in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Midway Atoll, Laysan Island, French Frigate Shoals account for the large majority of the population), with smaller colonies in the Bonin Islands (Japan) and a growing colony off Mexico (Guadalupe Island); non-breeding/foraging range spans the North Pacific from the northern Bering Sea south to about 10-15°N, reaching Japan, the Aleutians, and California
Diet: Primarily squid and other cephalopods, supplemented by fish, fish eggs, crustaceans, and other invertebrates taken at or near the ocean surface (also known to ingest floating plastic debris)
Size: 0.81 m
Wingspan: 2 m
Lifespan: 40 years

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