Laysan Albatross Identification

Very large seabird with narrow, pointed wings. Long, thick, hooked bill is pale. Head and rump white, with dark tail and dark shading on the face.

Very large seabird with narrow, pointed wings and distinctive looping flight style; rarely flaps wings. Underwings are patchy white with variable amounts of dark. Grayish smudge on face.

Nests on the ground on islands in the Hawaiian island chain and off Mexico; flies to the Gulf of Alaska to forage. Chicks take about 6 months to fledge.

Forages at sea, either by landing and dabbling, or by picking food items from the surface in flight. Note all-brown back and grayish wash on face.

Chicks are wispy brown with pale or blond highlights and a dark bill. Laysan Albatrosses nest among short vegetation, mainly in the remote Northwest Hawaiian Islands; also small colonies on Kauai and Oahu and on a few Mexican Islands.

Feeds at sea on squid and fish as well as flying-fish eggs and other items attached to floating debris.

Older chicks tend to retain fuzzy brown head and neck down while molting into flight feathers before fledging.

Spends most of the year at sea, sometimes in flocks especially around fishing boats. More likely to sit on the sea surface during calm winds when dynamic soaring is more difficult.

Spends most of the year on the open ocean. Characteristic looping flight style takes advantage of prevailing winds to fly while rarely flapping wings.