Short-tailed albatross

Lore & Background

The short-tailed albatross is a medium-sized albatross with a wingspan of 213 to 240 cm and a body weight of 4.3 to 8.5 kg. Adults have white plumage with black flight feathers, a yellow-stained nape and crown, and a large pink bill that gains a blue tip in older birds. Juveniles are all-over brown and whiten over 10 to 20 years. It can be distinguished from Laysan and black-footed albatrosses by its larger size and pink bill with a bluish tip.

The species is divided into two distinct subpopulations: one breeding on Tori-shima in the Izu islands south of Japan, and the other primarily on the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. These populations are genetically, morphologically, and behaviorally distinct, leading some authors to argue they should be classified as two separate cryptic species. During non-breeding season, males and juveniles gather in the Bering Sea, while females feed off Japan and eastern Russia, and the species can be found as far east as California.

Reader's Guide

The short-tailed albatross came perilously close to extinction due to industrial-scale feather hunting in the late 19th century, with some estimates claiming upward of 10 million birds destroyed. By the 1930s, the only population left was on Torishima, and despite a Japanese government ban in 1933, the last birds on the island were killed. The species was assumed extinct until an estimated 50 juveniles survived at sea and returned to breed; the first egg was laid in 1954. Conservation measures include decoys to encourage breeding, relocation of chicks from Tori-shima to Mukojima between 2008 and 2012, and protection by Japan, Canada, and the United States. Tori-shima is a National Wildlife Protection Area, and native plants are being transplanted to assist nesting. In 2017, a wild short-tailed albatross born to an artificially-raised mother returned to the Bonin Islands, the first such return in roughly 80 years. Current threats include longline fisheries, volcanic eruptions on Tori-shima, introduced predators, environmental contaminants, soil instability, and extreme weather.

Did You Know?

• The short-tailed albatross is also called Steller's albatross after Georg Wilhelm Steller, who collected the skins used to describe the species.
• It was once common but was hunted to near-extinction for its feathers, with up to 10 million birds destroyed.
• The species is divided into two distinct subpopulations that are genetically, morphologically, and behaviorally distinct.
• In Japanese tradition it is known as 'ahodori' (idiot bird) due to its trusting nature toward terrestrial predators.