Albatross
large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albatrosses are large seabirds which belong to the biological family Diomedeidae. They live in the region of the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean. They are not found in the North Atlantic region, but their fossils have been found there, which shows that they used to live there. There are four main species of albatross: Great Albatrosses, North Pacific Albatrosses, Mollymawks and Sooty Albatrosses. These are divided into twenty-one species identified by the World Conservation Union (ICUN).
Albatross | |
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Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) | |
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Infraclass: | Neoaves |
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Family: | Diomedeidae George Robert Gray 1840[1] |
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Great Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds. They are very big. All albatrosses are very good at flying, spending much of their life in the air. They eat squid, fish and krill. Albatrosses come ashore to make their nests, mostly on islands, and usually near the nests of other birds.
Nineteen of the twenty-one species of albatross are endangered. This is partly because animals such as rats and cats attack their eggs, chicks, and sometimes adult birds as well. Pollution of the oceans, such as plastic waste and oils spills, also kills albatrosses. Sometimes there may be not enough fish to eat because of over-fishing. The main reason why albatross are endangered is longline fishing which causes many albatross to get caught on hooks that have been baited to catch fish. This causes the birds to drown.