Wandering+Albatross

Animal: Animal Group: Description of animal group || Wandering Albatross //( Diomedea exulans// ) Albatross
 * __**Classification**__

Albatrosses are considered by many to be the most majestic of all Antarctic birds. Their long, narrow wings are strikingly graceful. Equally impressive are the large heads featuring massive hooked bills. Their bodies are mainly white and they have long necks, short legs, and mostly short tails. Albatrosses are supreme gliders; with modified wings to maximize the updrafts and thermals over the open ocean. Albatrosses are best observed during rough weather, when high waves create strong uplifting air currents, enabling them to remain aloft with hardly a wing beat for hours on end. || Observation Describe your animal (Colour, size, body parts) || **Appearance:** Adults have a white head, neck and body, a wedge-shaped tail, and a large pink beak. Juveniles have mostly dark plumage, that gradually whitens with age.
 * Source 1: || http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/birds/albatross.shtml ||
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 * __**Description**__


 * Wingspan:** More than 3 m
 * Weight:** 6 - 11 kg, females smaller
 * Length:** 1 - 1.3 m, females smaller

 Diomedea exulans can be found mostly in southern oceans. It has got the greatest widespan of all living birds. Generally their widespan is up to 350 cm (over 11 feet) but albatrosses with widespan almost 400 cm were also observed. Its weight varies from 6 to 12 kg (13-26 lb) and its length is up to 140 cm (55 iches). Wandering albatross is a beautiful bird with white feathers and black marginal lines. It has got a small head and an orange bill. Its slim body is aerodynamically shaped. || Describe how your animal behaves (moves, flies, runs) ||  Its slim body is aerodynamically shaped which enables him to wander over 500 km (270 miles) a day and 56 000 km (35 000 miles) in three months. Its light weight and narrow wings allow it to use wind and air as a “motor” so it can go with the wind and glide downwind. Its effort is minimal. || Where it lives || **Nests Made from Mounds of mud and grass around the southern oceans.** || What it eats How it eats || Fish, cephalopods, jellyfish, and on rare occasions crustaceans. Also penguin and seal carrion. || How does it have babies? How does it care for its babies? How long do they live? || Albatrosses can live to be 80 - 85 years old and they mate for life. Once they leave the nest they may not return to land again for 7 to 10 years when they return to the island where they were born.
 * Source 1: || http://www.heardisland.aq/nature/animals/fact_file_wandering_albatross.html ||
 * Source 2: || http://www.wildanimalsonline.com/birds/wanderingalbatross.php ||
 * **__Movement:__**
 * Source 1: || http://www.wildanimalsonline.com/birds/wanderingalbatross.php ||
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 * **__Habitat:__**
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 * **__Feeding Habits:__**
 * Source 1: || http://www.heardisland.aq/nature/animals/fact_file_wandering_albatross.html ||
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 * **__Breeding Habits:__**

Wandering albatross pairs mate for life [|(5)], these long-lived birds do not reach sexual maturity until 9 – 11 years of age [|(4)]. Nests are constructed from a mound of grasses and moss and a single egg is laid [|(2)]. Both parents take it in turns to incubate the egg (that hatches after two months) and then to feed the growing chick, which remains on the nest for around nine months [|(5)]. || What does it do during the day and night? || **Albatrosses spend the better part of their lives on the wing, gliding and circling the wind systems of the Southern Ocean.** **Adults have been recorded flying up to 550 miles per day at speeds of 50 mph, and in a single foraging flight they can cover an incredible 1800 to 9300 miles, a distance greater than the diameter of the earth.** || How has it changed over time in Antarctica? ||  || Type in the content of your page here.
 * Source 1: || http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/birds/albatross.shtml ||
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 * **__Activity:__**
 * Source 1: || http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/birds/albatross.shtml ||
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 * **Adaptations:**
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 * **Threats:** || There are no known predators. ||
 * Source 1: || http://www.heardisland.aq/nature/animals/fact_file_wandering_albatross.html ||
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 * **Other Facts:** || [[image:http://www.polarconservation.org/education/antarctic-animals/antarctic-birds/wanderingalbatross/images/wandering-albatross-photo-uiuc.jpg width="283" height="110"]][[image:http://afishblog.com/wp-admin/images/albatross3.jpg width="136" height="134"]] ||
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