Everything about The Short-tailed Albatross totally explained
The
Short-tailed Albatross or
Steller's Albatross (
Phoebastria albatrus) is a large rare
seabird from the
North Pacific. Although related to the other North
Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the
Southern Ocean. It was described by the
German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas from skins collected by the intrepid
Georg Wilhelm Steller (after whom its other common name is derived). Once common, it was brought to the edge of
extinction by the trade in
feathers, but with protection has recently made a recovery.
The Short-tailed Albatross is a large bird, with a wingspan of 2.37 m (7.9 ft), a length of 90 cm (3 ft) and a body weight of 4.3 kg (9.5 lbs). It can be distinguished from the other two species of albatross in its range, the
Laysan Albatross and the
Black-footed Albatross by its larger size and its pink bill (with a bluish tip), as well as details of its
plumage. Contrary to its name its tail is no shorter than that of the Laysan or Black-footed, and is actually longer than that of the other member of the
genus Phoebastria, the
Waved Albatross. Its
plumage as an adult is overall white with black wings and a yellow-stained head. The juveniles are an all-over brown colour.
Short-tailed Albatrosses now nest on only one island, the
Japanese island of
Tori Shima (Izu Tori Shima).
(External Link
) When at
sea feeding they range across the North
Pacific, particularly in the
Bering Sea where the largest numbers are seen today, but also as far east as
California. Historically Torishima was the most important breeding
colony but they also bred on
islands from
Taiwan north, as well as the
Bonin Islands. Going further back in time,
fossils of albatrosses from the mid-
Pleistocene in
Bermuda and
North Carolina are considered to be closest to the Short-tailed Albatross.
The Short-tailed Albatross came perilously close to
extinction. They were
hunted on an almost industrial scale for their feathers in the later half of the
19th century with some estimates claiming upward of 10 million birds hunted. By the 1930s the only population left was on Torishima, between
1927 and until
1933 hunting continued when the Japanese
government declared the ban of hunting to save the
species, after which the albatrosses stopped breeding on the island. At this point the species was assumed to be extinct and research became impossible with the outbreak of
World War II. On
1949 an
American researcher arriving on this island declared the species to be extinct, but an estimated 50 individuals, most likely juveniles, survived at sea (all albatross species take a long time to reach sexual maturity and won't return to their natal colony for many years). After the return of the birds they were more carefully protected, and the first egg was laid by the returning birds in
1954. Varieties of albatross decoys were placed around on the island after it was discovered that like other albatross species, this species also were enticed to breed if placed in a group. Since then with the aid of protection efforts, the population has increased to an estimated 1840 birds as of
2003.
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