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Aug 27, 2024 · Albatross, (family Diomedeidae), any of more than a dozen species of large seabirds that collectively make up the family Diomedeidae (order Procellariiformes). Because of their tameness on land, many albatrosses are known by the common names mollymawk (from the Dutch for “foolish gull”) and gooney.
- Laysan Albatross
In albatross. The laysan albatross (Phoebastria...
- Sooty Albatross
Other articles where sooty albatross is discussed:...
- Black-Browed Albatross
Other articles where black-browed albatross is discussed:...
- Royal Albatross
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- Black-Footed Albatross
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- Wandering Albatross
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- Laysan Albatross
They were once commonly known as goonie birds or gooney birds, particularly those of the North Pacific. In the Southern Hemisphere, the name mollymawk is still well established in some areas, which is a corrupted form of malle-mugge, an old Dutch name for the northern fulmar.
Apr 28, 2024 · Only 3 albatross species reside in the North Pacific. Their tameness on land earned albatrosses nicknames like ‘mollymawk’ meaning ‘foolish gull’ and ‘gooney.’ Albatross, just like its fellow oceanic birds, drink seawater. Humans hunt albatross to use their feathers as an ornament for women’s hats.
The mollymawks are a group of medium-sized albatrosses that form the genus Thalassarche. The name has sometimes been used for the genus Phoebetria as well, but these are usually called sooty albatrosses. They are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where they are the most common of the albatrosses.
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Flight
Albatrosses are very large. The bill is large, strong and sharp. This bill is made of horny plates. Along the sides are the two "tubes". They are actually long nostrils. The tubes of all albatrosses are on the sides of the bill. They help the albatrosses develop their sense of smell a lot.The feet have no last toe and the three other toes are all webbed. Their legs are quite strong, and they can walk well on land, unlike other sea birds. Albatrosses need to take salt out of their body because...
Locations
Most albatrosses are found in the southern hemisphere from Antarctica to Australia, South Africa and South America. However, the four North Pacific albatrosses live elsewhere. Three of them are in the North Pacific, from Hawaii to Japan, California and Alaska. The last one, the Waved Albatross, is in the Galapagos Islandsand finds food in the coast of South America. It is not known clearly why the albatrosses became extinct in the North Atlantic. Some think that it was because the sea level r...
Diet
The albatross eats cephalopods, fish, crustaceans and offal. Sometimes, they may also eat carrion and or other kinds of zooplankton. However, the importance of each food is different according to each species. Some may like to eat only squids, or others might eat more krill or fish. From the two albatross species that live in Hawaii, one of them, the Black-footed Albatross, eats mostly fish. The other one, the Laysan Albatross, eats more squids instead. Sometimes albatrosses may use the help...
Name
The name albatross came from the Arabic word al-câdous or al-ġaţţās. This means a pelican, or can mean "the diver". This word later became English, also mixed with the Portuguese word alcatraz, which means "gannet". This is also where the name of the prison Alcatraz comes from. The OED explains that the word alcatraz was at first supposed to be used for the frigatebird. But perhaps the change of the word to albatross was because of the Latin word albus. This means "white", which is opposite t...
Culture
Albatrosses have been described as "the most legendary of all birds". When people are sad or feel they are carrying a burden, they may use the expression 'to have an albatross around their neck'. There is a myth that sailors do not shoot or eat albatrosses because they think it will bring bad luck, but in reality sailors regularly killed and ate them. They were often thought of as the souls of lost sailors. The Māori people used the wing bones of the albatross to carve tattoos into their skin...
Human threats
Even though they were legendary birds in many myths, albatrosses were still attacked by humans. In the beginning, Polynesians and Aleut people hunted albatrosses. As Europeans began to explore the world, they too began to hunt albatross. They "fished" for them from boats and ate them or killed them for sport. Of the 21 albatross species noted by the IUCN on their list, 19 are threatened, and the other two are very near to being threatened. Two species are thought of as endangered. This is mos...
Great albatross (Diomedea)North Pacific albatrosses (Phoebastria)Mollymawks (Thalassarche)Sooty albatrosses (Phoebetria)"Diomedeidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 4 May 2006.HANZAB complete species list Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine(Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.)BirdLife International Save the Albatross campaign Archived 2007-08-07 at the Wayback MachineJul 12, 2023 · Albatrosses are large web-footed seabirds that range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. In the North Pacific, they were once known as Goonie birds or Gooney birds. In the southern hemisphere, they are often referred to as mollymawk. Albatrosses are long-lived with a life expectancy of 50 or longer.
Over the years many less complimentary names have been given to albatrosses, all of them suggesting stupidity. These names include "mollymawk", (from the dutch word meaning "stupid gull") and "gooney" (derived from the old English "gooney"used to describe a stupid person).
