Black-footed Albatross
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Diomedeidae
Genus:Phoebastria
Species:nigripes
Description
- Length: 32"
- Wing Span: 84"
- Weight: 7lb (3,200g)
- Description: Large seabird with long narrow wings. Mostly dusky brown with white under eye and at the base of a large bill. White tail coverts. Light adult (rare see photo at right) more white than regualr adult on body. Dusky pink bill. White on face, forhead, and cheek. Pale gray-brown under belly.
- Gender Differences: Males & females are alike. Juveniles are uniformly dark brown overall with a palce colored face and a large dark bill.
Factoids:
- The only dark albatross of the northern Pacific Ocean, the Black-footed Albatross nests primarily on the Hawaiian Islands. It wanders widely across the northern Pacific for most of the year, and is regularly seen off the west coast of North America
- The Black-footed Albatross has a keen sense of smell, which it uses to locate food across vast expanses of ocean
- The Black-footed Albatross drinks seawater and excretes excess salt through glands above the eyes
- The Black-footed Albatross has a number of apparent adaptations to stay cool at hot, exposed nest sites. These include an extensive network of blood vessels in the head, as well as a habit of raising the feet off the ground
All photo, video and audio on this site are ©2010 Jamie Osterbuhr
Life List Index #182, September 21st, 2007
Off of the California Coast, Monterey Bay
Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, The Sibley's Guide to Birds, Sibley's Birding Bascis, The Sibley's Guide to Bird Life & Behavior
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