Locally abundant and common in southern Australian seas.
Habitat
Marine, pelagic and aerial. Open waters of the Antarctic, approaching the edge of the pack-ice in late summer. Uncommon south of the Antarctic Convergence.
Breeds on various sub-Antarctic islands, including Macquarie Island. Common in southern Australian seas, north to about Fremantle, WA and Sydney, NSW. Progressively less common further north.
Food
Cuttle-fish and other marine life, as well as galley-refuse from ships. Rarely crustaceans. Usually procured from the surface, but shallow-plunging and pursuit-plunging has also been observed.
Voice
Hoarse braying whistles in dancing display, coughing grunts when fighting over food.
Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) [XC883164]
by Barry Edmonston from Near Brown's sea mount, Tasman Sea, Australia (call)
Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) [XC796375]
by id from Kaik\u014dura, Canterbury, New Zealand (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds mostly on sub-Antarctic Islands (December - February). Breeds only every second year.
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Nest
Large, cone-shaped, composed of earth and grass cemented with guano, on the ground. In colonies.
Eggs (Guide)
1; white, speckled with red-brown; oblong-oval; about 131 x 78 mm. Incubation: 9 - 11 weeks; by both sexes.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 270 - 280 days.
Subspecies
Diomedea exulans (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) and Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis) following Brooke (2004), contra Robertson and Nunn (1998) who also split antipodensis into two taxa Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis) and Gibson's Albatross (Diomedea gibsoni).
Should perhaps include Amsterdam Albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis). Populations of Antipodes Is and Campbell I, and of Auckland Is may represent two further subspecies.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
exulans Linnaeus, 1758 - Southern Ocean, from South Georgia east to Antipodes Is.
dabbenena Mathews, 1929 - Tristan da Cuhna group. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena).
antipodensis Robertson & Warham, 1992 - Antipodes, Campbell and Auckland islands, NZ. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis).
gibsoni Robertson & Warham, 1992 - Breeds Auckland Islands (New Zealand); ranges at sea at least from Tasman Sea to mid Pacific Ocean. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Gibson's Albatross (Diomedea gibsoni).
amsterdamensis Roux, Jouventin, Mougin, Stahl & Weimerskirch, 1983 - Amsterdam Island. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Amsterdam Albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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