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Diomedeidae

Laysan Albatross Peter La Tourrette http://www.stanford.edu/~petelat1/

There are generally considered to be 14 species in this family, which are:

Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans
Amsterdam Albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis
Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora
Waved Albatross Diomedea irrorata
Short-tailed Albatross Diomedea albatrus
Black-footed Albatross Diomedea nigripes
Laysan Albatross Diomedea immutabilis
Black-browed Albatross Diomedea melanophris
Buller`s Albatross Diomedea bulleri
Shy Albatross Diomedea cauta
Yellow-nosed Albatross Diomedea chlororhynchos
Gray-headed Albatross Diomedea chrysostoma

Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca
Light-mantled Albatross Phoebetria palpebrata

useful reading

Albatross: their world, their ways

by Tui De Roy, Mark Jones and Julian Fitter RSPB with A&C Black Ł35
ISBN: 9780713688122
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Field Guide to the Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World

by Derek Onley and Paul Scofield Series: HELM FIELD GUIDES 224 pages, 46 colour plates, distribution maps.Christopher Helm 2007
ISBN: 9780713643329
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Seabirds

by Peter Harrison - Helm 1985
ISBN: 071363510X
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Seabirds ? a natural history

by Anthony J Gaston A&C Black 2004
See Fatbirder Review
ISBN: 0713665572
Buy this book from NHBS.com

clubs

Adopt an Albatross!

http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/fitzpatrick/docs/albatros.html
Albatrosses are the bird family with perhaps the highest proportion of threatened species: of the 21 species currently recognised, 20 are listed as threatened or near-threatened in the global red data list. The accidental capture of albatrosses (and petrels) by longline fisheries is the most significant single threat to albatross populations...

Albatross Project

http://www.wfu.edu/albatross/index.htm
Kids all over the world tracking albatross by satellite... a very child friendly site.

Save the Albatross

http://www.savethealbatross.net/field_diary.asp
Diaries from newly appointed Task Force members…

Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~sossa/
SOSSA was founded by members of the New South Wales Albatross Study Group (NSWASG) in 1994. It was set up to be an umbrella organisation for many study groups concerned with studies of Southern Ocean bio-diversity. SOSSA is a wildlife research and conservation group which consists of dedicated people both professional and amateur. These people share a common interest and concern for the environment and the wildlife of the Southern Oceans.

The Seabird Group

http://www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/About/about.htm
The Seabird Group, a registered charity, was founded in 1966 to promote and help coordinate the study and conservation of seabirds...

reserves

Royal Albatross Centre

http://www.visit-dunedin.co.nz/albatross.html
Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula is unique, having the only mainland colony of albatross in the world and one which is within the bounds of a city. Visitors to Dunedin can travel easily along the scenic peninsula to see and learn about the albatross and the many other features of unique Taiaroa...

Royal Albatross Centre - Taiaroa Head

http://www.albatross.org.nz
The Royal Albatross Colony at Taiaroa Head, on the tip of the Peninsula, is the only mainland breeding colony of albatross in the world...

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!

Albatross Identification Card

http://www.uaf.edu/seagrant/Pubs_Videos/pubs/M-04.html
Anyone interested in seabirds can use this laminated, quick-reference card to identify the Laysan albatross, black-footed albatross, and the rare short-tailed albatross in the North Pacific. The card was designed for commercial fishermen, who are required by federal regulation to avoid killing short-tailed albatrosses. Albatrosses and other birds can get hooked when they grab bait on fishing lines...

Albatross Taxonomy

http://users.bigpond.net.au/palliser/pelagic/taxon.html
The taxonomy of albatrosses was stabilised, in part, in a unique fashion in 1965 when 15 seabird gurus from around the world published a taxonomy of albatrosses which recognised 13 species in two genera (Alexander et al 1965). This was the taxonomy used universally until a couple of years ago, but is now dated...

Albatross Wanderings

http://magazine.audubon.org/features0101/albatross.html
When 1.2 million birds of the same species breed on a few tiny islands, how do they find food? If they`re albatrosses, they take to the sky. Scientists tracked one mother who flew 38,706 miles in four months to feed her chick...

Black-browed Albatross Diomedea melanophris

http://www.pbs.org/kratts/world/ant/albatross/
Of the 13 kinds of albatross, the black-browed albatross is one of the smallest. Despite being called gooneys or mollymawks by sailors because of their clutsy landings, albatrosses are amazing and beautiful in the sky...

Black-browed Albatross Diomedea melanophris

http://www.falklands-nature.demon.co.uk/wildlife/species_reports/albatross.html
The Black-browed Albatross Diomedea melanophris, known in the Falkland Islands as the Mollymawk, is found all around the southern oceans between 25` and 60`S. The Falkland Islands hold over 85% of the global population and are the most important breeding station in the world for this species. The largest rookery in the world is on Steeple Jason Island with some 200-230,000 breeding pairs (1987)...

Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i0810id.html
Similarly pelagic shearwaters and petrels are smaller with shorter wings. Also dark, but rare, first-year Short-tailed Albatross has pink bill and legs. Other albatross species have white bodies and heads...

California Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus

http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/CA_STAL.html
The Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus once bred in huge numbers on at least eleven uninhabited remote islands in subtropical waters west of the Izu-Bonin islands chain, south of Japan. These long-lived birds do not reach full maturity until about 12 years old; away from the breeding islands they ranged widely throughout the north Pacific Ocean (Hasegawa 1984). Here in California, it was once...

Gray-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma

http://www.greglasley.net/grayalba.html
Excellent photographs...

Laysan Albatross Diomedea immutabilis

http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/albatross.html
The Laysan Albatross breeds on isolated islands in the central Pacific Ocean, but is found throughout the northern oceans during all times of the year. They are most commonly seen in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands flying low over the waves searching for food...

Seabird Osteology

http://www.shearwater.nl
The Seabirds Skull Gallery, existing since 2002, has only been changed a bit and was given a new name that covers the subject more properly. After two years working on this site it is not only skulls anymore that are shown. Regular visitors have already noticed that since December 2004 the scope has widened. It now includes also other parts of the seabird skeleton. In the Seabird Osteology section general aspects of seabird osteology are treated and in the species section you willl find a listing of families and groups with links to pages on skeletons of particular species or groups. There is always work in progress, which means that there will be additions and improvements from time to time...

Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus

http://midway.fws.gov/wildlife/stal.html
The largest and only white-bodied albatross in the north Pacific. Golden, yellow cast on head and nape. Upper wings: white with black primaries, secondaries, and tertials. Under wing: white with black leading and trailing edges...

Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus

http://www.iphc.washington.edu/staff/tracee/shorttail.htm
Historically Short-tailed Albatross were one of the most abundant albatross in the North Pacific, ranging over the entire Pacific Rim. Between 1887 and 1932 the feather trade brought the species to near extinction. By 1950 they were considered one of the world`s rarest birds, nesting on only one Japanese Island. In the 1960`s they were protected internationally and the Japanese government declared the species a national monument. Today the population is recovering and though endangered approximately 1,000 birds exist.