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Large
seabird with long narrow wings adapted for gliding and a
wingspan of up to 3 m/10 ft, mainly found in the southern
hemisphere. Albatrosses feed mainly on squid and fish, and
nest on remote oceanic islands. Albatrosses can cover enormous
distances, flying as far as 16,100 km/10,000 mi in 33 days,
or up to 640 km/600 mi in one day. They continue flying
even after dark, at speeds of up to 53.5 kph/50 mph, though
they may stop for an hour's rest and to feed during the
night.
The method of flight of albatrosses is interesting in that
they may maintain gliding flight without flapping their
wings for hours on end. To do this they make use of the
steady trade winds, and the fact that nearer to the surface
of the water the air flows more slowly, reaching full speed
much higher up. They dive downwind, turn, and rise up into
progressively faster-moving air. The faster the air flows
over their wings, the greater the lift; in this way they
can reach the heights from which they started without flapping
their wings. They do, however, lose ground downwind, so
they drift slowly across the ocean with the prevailing winds.
The birds seldom come ashore, except at breeding time.
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