Everything about The Southern Royal Albatross totally explained
The
Southern Royal Albatross,
Diomedea epomophora, is a large
seabird from the
albatross family. At an average wingspan of almost 3 m (10 ft), a length of 123 cm (49 in) and a weight of 8.5 kg (18.8 lbs), it's the second largest
albatross, behind the
Wandering Albatross.
It was once considered
conspecific with the
Northern Royal Albatross (
Diomedea sanfordi) as the
Royal Albatross and the split into two species isn't universally accepted. The two
species can be separated at sea by the plumage of the wing on adults, the Southern Royal Albatross having large areas of white going down the wings, as opposed to the Northern, which has entirely black wings. They are the whitest of all the albatrosses, with black wing tips and trailing edges when fully mature. They lack the peach spot on the side of the head of
Wandering Albatross. Their legs are flesh coloured, and their
bill is pink with black cutting edges creating a black line along the middle. The Black line is a diagnostic difference from
Wandering Albatross but the bill is also paler and the white patterning on the wings is finer - 'frosty' rather than 'blotchy' with the white spreading from the leading edge rather than out from the middle of the wing as birds mature, though some have small white spots in the middle of the wing.
The majority of the world's population of Southern Royal Albatrosses nest on the rat free
Sub-antarctic Campbell Island, around 13,000 pairs. There are smaller colonies in the
Auckland Islands, and some
sanfordi X
epomophora hybrids at the Northern Royal Albatross colony on the
Otago Peninsula in
New Zealand.
Gallery
Image:Ciranest chick.jpg|Adult with chick on mound nest on Campbell Island
Image:Diomedea epomorpha (Mattern).jpg|Southern Ocean, New Zealand
Image:Royal albatros.jpg|Southern Ocean, New Zealand
Image:Southern Royal Albatrosses.jpg
Further Information
Get more info on 'Southern Royal Albatross'.
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