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albatross

albatross

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

albatross. There are 21 species of these large, long-winged, long-lived seabirds that are superb gliders, certain smaller species being known as mollymawks. The wandering albatross (Diomedea exultans) is continually on the wing from when it leaves the nest, and seven years later it first mates and nests itself. During that time, using its 4.6-metre (15-ft) wingspan, it glides hundreds of thousands of kilometres, encircling the Southern Ocean south of the Roaring Forties many times. Albatrosses mate for life, and so are seriously threatened by long-lining. During the past 30 years the wandering albatross's population in the Indian Ocean has halved and it is among the species threatened with extinction. The black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) is the most under threat, declining at 5% per annum. However, in 2004 the short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus), which was thought to be extinct, was discovered on a Japanese island. Australia and New Zealand have ratified an international agreement for the conservation of the albatross and petrel, and it is hoped other countries will soon follow suit.

About 100,000 albatrosses of all types are killed per annum, mostly by unregistered fishermen, fishing mainly for tuna, who fail to take quite elementary precautions to avoid snagging the birds. Females are more vulnerable because they tend to feed at the Sub-Antarctic Convergence, where long-lining activity is most intense; males feed further south at the Antarctic Convergence. Albatrosses are rarely seen in the North Atlantic, but several species occur in the North Pacific including the Laysan albatross (D. immutabilis), which only nests on Midway Atoll, and the waved albatross (D. irrorata), which nests on the Galapagos Islands.

Early mariners believed albatrosses embodied the souls of drowned sailors and hence it was bad luck to kill one. This myth was immortalized in the ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, the poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798.

M. V. Angel
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albatross

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

albatross , common name for sea birds of the order of tube-nosed swimmers (Procellariiformes), which includes petrels, shearwaters, and fulmars. The wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans, made famous by Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, has a wingspread of from 10 to 12 ft (305–366 cm), although the wings are only about 9 in. (22.5 cm) wide. Because of their tapering wing design they excel at gliding and flying. Albatrosses eat mainly fish, floating carrion, and refuse. Most albatrosses are found in the South Pacific region, e.g., the wandering and the sooty species; a few, the black-footed ( D. nigripes ), the short-tailed, and the Laysan ( D. immutabilis ) albatrosses, regularly frequent the N Pacific.

Albatrosses have unique courtship behavior. They groan, scrape their bills, and dance about awkwardly, before pairing and mating occurs. They are colonial breeders, the female laying her single white egg in crude nests on the ground. Both sexes incubate the egg; incubation takes from two to three months. Albatrosses have few natural enemies, with the exception of humans. They were slaughtered for their feathers and wings in the 19th cent., and used in millinery and as "swansdown" pillow stuffings.

Albatrosses are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Procellariiformes, family Diomedeidae.

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Diomedeidae

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

Diomedeidae(albatrosses; class Aves, order Procellariiformes) A family of large sea-birds that have long, narrow wings, a large head, and a long, strong bill with a hooked tip and tubular nostrils. They have short legs, webbed feet, and a reduced or absent hallux. They are pelagic, often gregarious, and have a powerful, gliding flight. They feed on fish, squid, and other marine animals, coming to land only to nest. Diomedea exulans (wandering albatross) has the largest wing-span of any bird, measuring 3.5 m. There are two genera, with 13 species, found in southern oceans and in the N. Pacific, occasionally wandering into other regions.
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Albatross

Dictionary of American History | 2003 | Copyright

ALBATROSS

ALBATROSS, the Yankee-owned ship that brought news of the outbreak of the War of 1812 to William Price Hunt, partner of the Pacific Fur Company, at its Astoria post in the disputed Oregon Territory. Hunt chartered the ship and removed the furs from Astoria to avoid possible British capture, thus abandoning the first American fur post on the Columbia River.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ronda, James P. Astoria and Empire. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.

Carl L.Cannon/a. r.

See alsoAstoria ; Fur Trade and Trapping ; Pacific Fur Company .
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albatross

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

al·ba·tross / ˈalbəˌtrôs; -ˌträs/ • n. (pl. albatrosses ) a large oceanic bird (genera Diomedea and Phoebetria, family Diomedeidae) whose narrow wings may span greater than 10 feet (3.3 m). ∎  a source of frustration; an encumbrance (in allusion to Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner).

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albatross

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

albatross XVII. usu. taken to be alt., by assoc. with L. albus white, of †alcatras pelican, etc. (XVI) — Sp., Pg. alcatraz, var. of Pg. alcatruz orig. bucket of an irrigating water-wheel, corr. to Sp. alcaduz — Arab. al-ḳādūs, i.e. AL-2, ḳādūs pitcher. The changes of sense and form are a serious difficulty.
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T. F. HOAD. "albatross." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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albatross

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

albatross Large, migratory oceanic bird of the Southern Hemisphere famed for its effortless gliding flight. There are 13 species. The wandering albatross has a long, hooked bill, short tail, webbed toes and the greatest wing span of any living bird – 3.5m (11.5ft) or more. Length: 0.7–1.4m (2.3–4.4ft). Family Diomedeidae.
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albatross

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

albatross the albatross is traditionally believed to bring bad luck, and the word is used for a source of frustration or guilt or an encumbrance, in allusion to Coleridge's poem about the Ancient Mariner and his shooting of the bird.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "albatross." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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albatrosses

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

albatrosses See DIOMEDEIDAE; PROCELLARIIFORMES.
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albatross

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

albatross •across, boss, Bros, cos, cross, crosse, doss, dross, emboss, en brosse, floss, fosse, gloss, Goss, joss, Kos, lacrosse, loss, moss, MS-DOS, Ross, toss •Laos •Áyios Nikólaos, chaos •Eos • Helios •Chios, Khíos •Lesbos • straw boss • Phobos • rooibos •extrados • kudos • reredos • intrados •Calvados • Argos • Lagos • logos •Marcos • telos •Delos, Melos •Byblos • candyfloss •tholos, Vólos •bugloss • omphalos • Pátmos •Amos, Deimos, Sámos •Demos • peatmoss • cosmos • Los Alamos • Lemnos • Hypnos • Minos •Mykonos • tripos • topos • Atropos •Ballesteros, pharos, Saros •Imbros • criss-cross • rallycross • Eros •albatross • monopteros • Dos Passos •Náxos • Hyksos • Knossos • Santos •benthos •bathos, pathos •ethos • Kórinthos

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Albatross: Their World, Their Ways.(Book review)
Magazine article from: The Wilson Journal of Ornithology; 3/1/2009
DEATH OF THE ALBATROSS; The first Briton to row the Atlantic on his quest to...
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 6/18/2004
Short-tailed Albatross: Back from the Brink.(Alaska)
Magazine article from: Endangered Species Bulletin; 3/1/1999

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