Salvin's Albatross
Encyclopedia
Salvin's Albatross, or Salvin's Mollymawk, Thalassarche salvini, is a large seabird
that ranges across the Southern Ocean
. A medium sized mollymawk
in the albatross
family
, it was long considered to be a subspecies of the Shy Albatross
. It is a medium sized black and white albatross.
order, along with Shearwater
s, Fulmar
s, Storm-petrel
s, and Diving-petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Albatross are on the sides of the bill, unlike other tubenosed seabirds. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax ester
s and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus
. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. Finally, they have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
The Salvin's Albatross along with the White-capped Albatross
, Shy Albatross
, and Chatham Albatross
were all considered the same species until a 1998 book by Robertson and Nunn. Other experts followed suit, with BirdLife International
in 2000, Brooke in 2004, ACAP
in 2006, and SACC
in 2008. Though some, like James Clements
(at the time of his death) didn't agree, nor has Cornell University
since (which is responsible for his book). Molecular analysis has shown that it and the closely related Chatham Albatross
(also considered to be a subspecies of the Shy Albatross) are actually sister taxon to each other, and more distantly related to the Shy.
.
, the largest of the "mollymawk" or small albatross group. The adult bird has a silver-grey crown
. Its face, upper throat, and upper mantler are grey, and its back, upperwing, and tail are grey-black. It has a white rump and underparts with a black thumbmark on underwing and black narrow leading and trailing edges on the wing and black wing tips. Its bill is pale grey-green with a pale yellow upper ridge, and a bright yellow tip on the upper mandible
, and a dark spot on the tip of the lower mandible
. The juveniles have more extensive grey areas and a blue-grey bill with black tips on both mandible
s. It can be distinguished from the Chatham Albatross by its larger size and grey bill, and from the Shy Albatross by the greyer head. Such differences can be difficult to pick out at sea, however, and this explains the under-representation of this species in at-sea surveys.
after about 4 months.
in the Indian Ocean
and the Bounty Islands
and The Snares
to the south of New Zealand
, The Pyramid, and Forty-Fours Island
. At sea they range from South Africa
across to Australia
and as far east as the coast of South America
. In April 2011, several photographs of a Salvin's or Chatham Island albatross were taken appx. 800 miles north of the Hawaiian Islands
.
with longline fisheries and trawlers responsible for small amounts of deaths, although trawlers are responsible for more than half of those killed. The world population is currently estimated to be around 61,500 birds in 1998, which suggests a decline in the species since earlier studies (although differences in methods make direct comparisons difficult). There are 30,750 pairs, in 1998, on the Bounty Islands
, compared to 76,000 pairs in 1978. There were 650 pairs on the Snares Islands, and four pair have been recorded on Île des Pingouins in the Crozet Islands
. Single chicks have been observed on The Pyramid and Forty-fours Island
in 2007.
Bird banding and studies are underway, and all of the islands except for The Pyramid, and Forty-fours Island
, which are privately owned, are nature preserves. In 1998, the Snares Islands and Bounty Islands
were declared World heritage site
s, and in 2006, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
adopted a measure to require bird bycatch mitigation measures south of 30° S.
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
that ranges across the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
. A medium sized mollymawk
Mollymawk
The mollymawks are a group of medium sized albatrosses that form the genus Thalassarche. The name has sometimes been used for the genus Phoebetria as well, but these are correctly called sooty albatrosses. They are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where they are the most common of the...
in the albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, it was long considered to be a subspecies of the Shy Albatross
Shy Albatross
The Shy Albatross or Shy Mollymawk, Thalassarche cauta, is a medium sized albatross that breeds off Australia and New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands and ranges extensively across the Southern Ocean...
. It is a medium sized black and white albatross.
Taxonomy
Mollymawks are a type of Albatross that belong to Diomedeidae family and come from the ProcellariiformesProcellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...
order, along with Shearwater
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
s, Fulmar
Fulmar
Fulmars are seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two that are extinct.-Taxonomy:As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called...
s, Storm-petrel
Storm-petrel
Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...
s, and Diving-petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Albatross are on the sides of the bill, unlike other tubenosed seabirds. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax ester
Wax ester
An ester of a fatty acid and a long-chain alcohol. These oils have similar properties as triglycerides, but are indigestible. They are found in some fish such as orange roughy, oilfish, escolar, black oreo, smooth oreo and other deep water fish. They are also present in marine copepods. Wax...
s and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus
Proventriculus
The proventriculus is part of the digestive system of birds, invertebrates and insects.-Birds:The proventriculus is a standard part of avian anatomy...
. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. Finally, they have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
The Salvin's Albatross along with the White-capped Albatross
White-capped Albatross
The White-capped Albatross, Thalassarche steadi, is a mollymawk that breeds on the islands off of New Zealand. Not all experts agree that this form should be recognized as a separate species to the Shy Albatross, Thalassarche cauta...
, Shy Albatross
Shy Albatross
The Shy Albatross or Shy Mollymawk, Thalassarche cauta, is a medium sized albatross that breeds off Australia and New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands and ranges extensively across the Southern Ocean...
, and Chatham Albatross
Chatham Albatross
The Chatham Albatross, Chatham Mollymawk, or Chatham Islands Mollymawk, Thalassarche eremita, is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the Shy Albatross...
were all considered the same species until a 1998 book by Robertson and Nunn. Other experts followed suit, with BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
in 2000, Brooke in 2004, ACAP
Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels is a legally binding international treaty signed in 2001.It was created in order to halt the drastic decline of seabird populations in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly albatrosses and procellariids...
in 2006, and SACC
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
in 2008. Though some, like James Clements
James Clements
Dr. James Franklin Clements was an ornithologist, author and very successful businessman. He was born in New York....
(at the time of his death) didn't agree, nor has Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
since (which is responsible for his book). Molecular analysis has shown that it and the closely related Chatham Albatross
Chatham Albatross
The Chatham Albatross, Chatham Mollymawk, or Chatham Islands Mollymawk, Thalassarche eremita, is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the Shy Albatross...
(also considered to be a subspecies of the Shy Albatross) are actually sister taxon to each other, and more distantly related to the Shy.
Etymology
The species was named by Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild for the distinguished ornithologist Osbert SalvinOsbert Salvin
Osbert Salvin FRS was an English naturalist, best known for co-authoring Biologia Centrali-Americana with Frederick DuCane Godman. This was a 52 volume encyclopedia on the natural history of Central America....
.
Description
The Salvin's Albatross is about 90 cm (35.4 in) and 2.56 m (8.4 ft) across the wings. It weighs 3.3–4.9 kg (7.3–10.8 lb) and is, alongside the Shy AlbatrossShy Albatross
The Shy Albatross or Shy Mollymawk, Thalassarche cauta, is a medium sized albatross that breeds off Australia and New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands and ranges extensively across the Southern Ocean...
, the largest of the "mollymawk" or small albatross group. The adult bird has a silver-grey crown
Crown (anatomy)
A crown is the top of the head.The following birds and other animals are said to have a crown on their head:* Cranes** Grey-crowned Crane** Red-crowned Crane** Black-crowned Crane* Crowned eagle* Gray-crowned Rosy Finch* Yellow-crowned Gonolek...
. Its face, upper throat, and upper mantler are grey, and its back, upperwing, and tail are grey-black. It has a white rump and underparts with a black thumbmark on underwing and black narrow leading and trailing edges on the wing and black wing tips. Its bill is pale grey-green with a pale yellow upper ridge, and a bright yellow tip on the upper mandible
Mandible
The mandible pronunciation or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place...
, and a dark spot on the tip of the lower mandible
Mandible
The mandible pronunciation or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place...
. The juveniles have more extensive grey areas and a blue-grey bill with black tips on both mandible
Mandible
The mandible pronunciation or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place...
s. It can be distinguished from the Chatham Albatross by its larger size and grey bill, and from the Shy Albatross by the greyer head. Such differences can be difficult to pick out at sea, however, and this explains the under-representation of this species in at-sea surveys.
Reproduction
It breeds mainly on small rocky islands with little vegetation, and the nest is a pedestal made of mud, feathers, and bird bones. A single egg is laid in September, and incubated by both parents until early November. The chicks fledgeFledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
after about 4 months.
| Location | Population | Date | Trend |
| Bounty Islands Bounty Islands The Bounty Islands at are a small group of 13 granite islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of , in the south Pacific Ocean that are territorially part of New Zealand. They are located between 47°44'35" and 47°46'10" S, and 179°01' and 179°04'20" E, southeast of the South Island of New... |
30,750 pair | 1998 | Possibly declining |
| Western Chain Islets, Snares Islands Western Chain, New Zealand The Western Chain is a group of islets at and a part of The Snares. They lie some to the WSW off the main island North East Island, which lies approx. south of New Zealand's South Island... |
< 650 pair | 1984 | |
| The Pyramid, Chatham Islands Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun... |
2 pair | 2006 | |
| Forty-Fours Forty-Fours/Motuhara Forty-Fours/Motuhara is part of the Chatham Islands group, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The islands lie east of the group's main island, Chatham Island. Area Type:* Hypsographic... |
1+ pair | 2007 | |
| Île des Pingouins, Crozet Islands Crozet Islands The Crozet Islands are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.-Geography:... |
1—4 pair | 2002 | |
| Total | 62,000 | 1998 | Possibly declining |
Range and habitat
The Salvin's Albatross breed colonially on three disparate island groups in the Southern Ocean, Île des Pingouins in the Crozet IslandsCrozet Islands
The Crozet Islands are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.-Geography:...
in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and the Bounty Islands
Bounty Islands
The Bounty Islands at are a small group of 13 granite islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of , in the south Pacific Ocean that are territorially part of New Zealand. They are located between 47°44'35" and 47°46'10" S, and 179°01' and 179°04'20" E, southeast of the South Island of New...
and The Snares
The Snares
Snares Islands/Tini Heke is a small island group situated approximately 200 kilometres south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-south-west of Stewart Island/Rakiura. The Snares consist of the main island North East Island and the smaller Broughton Island as well as the somewhat...
to the south of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, The Pyramid, and Forty-Fours Island
Forty-Fours/Motuhara
Forty-Fours/Motuhara is part of the Chatham Islands group, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The islands lie east of the group's main island, Chatham Island. Area Type:* Hypsographic...
. At sea they range from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
across to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and as far east as the coast of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. In April 2011, several photographs of a Salvin's or Chatham Island albatross were taken appx. 800 miles north of the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
.
Conservation
The IUCN classifies this species as VulnerableVulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
with longline fisheries and trawlers responsible for small amounts of deaths, although trawlers are responsible for more than half of those killed. The world population is currently estimated to be around 61,500 birds in 1998, which suggests a decline in the species since earlier studies (although differences in methods make direct comparisons difficult). There are 30,750 pairs, in 1998, on the Bounty Islands
Bounty Islands
The Bounty Islands at are a small group of 13 granite islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of , in the south Pacific Ocean that are territorially part of New Zealand. They are located between 47°44'35" and 47°46'10" S, and 179°01' and 179°04'20" E, southeast of the South Island of New...
, compared to 76,000 pairs in 1978. There were 650 pairs on the Snares Islands, and four pair have been recorded on Île des Pingouins in the Crozet Islands
Crozet Islands
The Crozet Islands are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.-Geography:...
. Single chicks have been observed on The Pyramid and Forty-fours Island
Forty-Fours/Motuhara
Forty-Fours/Motuhara is part of the Chatham Islands group, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The islands lie east of the group's main island, Chatham Island. Area Type:* Hypsographic...
in 2007.
Bird banding and studies are underway, and all of the islands except for The Pyramid, and Forty-fours Island
Forty-Fours/Motuhara
Forty-Fours/Motuhara is part of the Chatham Islands group, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The islands lie east of the group's main island, Chatham Island. Area Type:* Hypsographic...
, which are privately owned, are nature preserves. In 1998, the Snares Islands and Bounty Islands
Bounty Islands
The Bounty Islands at are a small group of 13 granite islets and numerous rocks, with a combined area of , in the south Pacific Ocean that are territorially part of New Zealand. They are located between 47°44'35" and 47°46'10" S, and 179°01' and 179°04'20" E, southeast of the South Island of New...
were declared World heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s, and in 2006, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission is a treaty-based organisation. It was established to conserve and manage tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks across the western and central areas of the Pacific Ocean and commenced operations in late 2005...
adopted a measure to require bird bycatch mitigation measures south of 30° S.