Wandering albatross

The wandering albatross, now often called the snowy albatross, is a very large seabird that lives over the Southern Ocean. It is the largest albatross and has the greatest known wingspan of any living bird, about 3 m or more.

Some individuals fly around the Southern Ocean three times in one year, travelling more than 120,000 km. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1758. The card says pairs usually stay together for life. It belongs to the family Diomedeidae and has a circumpolar range, meaning it flies all the way around the Antarctic region. It is also known as the goonie.

A champion glider

Albatrosses ride the wind over the sea for months with hardly a flap of their wings. Quiz data lists the wandering albatross as vulnerable, with a weight of about 8.5 kg and a life span up to about 50 years.

Its long, narrow wings let it cover vast distances with little effort. It spends most of its life far out over the open ocean.

Where the name comes from

The species name exulans is Latin for exile or wanderer, because of its far-ranging flights. Diomedea comes from Diomedes in Greek mythology, whose companions turned into birds.

Experts once thought the wandering albatross was one species, and later split it into several, including the Tristan and Antipodean albatrosses. The place where the species was first described is restricted to South Georgia, in the far south Atlantic.

On the globe

The model shows a wandering albatross with its huge wings spread. Look at how long and narrow the wings are.