Laysan Albatross – Mōlī (Phoebastria immutabilis)
- Life Span: > 40 years
- Wingspan: 195-203 cm (6.4-6.7 ft)
- Breeding Ecology:
- Monogamous (mostly), philopatric (returning to nest in the same area year after year)
- 1 egg/clutch, 1 egg/year
- Male incubates 2-3 weeks post-laying
- Incubation lasts around 65 days
- Chicks hatch from January through February, fledge about 5 months post-hatching
- Adults can travel >1,500 kilometers (>930 miles) to forage during incubation and chick-rearing
- Feed chicks via regurgitation of oil and solids
- Known for elaborate mating dance
- >70% of the world’s Laysan Albatrosses nest on Midway Atoll NWR, 99% nest in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
- Military activity killed many birds on Midway Atoll during World War II. Between 1954 and 1964, 54,000 birds were killed as a result of control measures to reduce risk of collisions with aircraft at Midway. From 1964–1965, collisions with communications antennas on Eastern Island killed more than 3,000 adults. Antennas were demolished in 1967.
- Wisdom, the world’s oldest known breeding bird in the wild, nests exclusively on Midway Atoll NWR.
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Black-footed Albatross – Ka’upu (Phoebastria nigripes)
- Life Span: > 40 years
- Wingspan: 193-216 cm (6.3-7.1 ft)
- Breeding Ecology:
- Monogamous (mostly), philopatric
- 1 egg/clutch, 1 egg/year
- Male incubates 2-3 weeks post-laying
- Incubation lasts around 65 days
- Both parents care for egg and chick
- Chicks hatch from January through February, fledge about 5 months post-hatching
- Adults can travel >1,500 km (>930 miles) to forage during incubation and chick-rearing
- Feed by regurgitation of oil & solids
- About 33% of global population nests on Midway Atoll NWR.
- Vulnerable to longline fishing and sea-level rise.
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Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
- Life Span: > 40 years
- Wingspan: 213-229 cm (6.9-7.5 ft)
- Breeding Ecology:
- Monogamous, philopatric (on Torishima and Senkaku Islands, Japan)
- 1 egg/clutch, 1 egg/year
- Chicks hatch December through January, fledge 5-6 months post-hatch.
- Thought to be extinct in 1949; Short-tailed Albatross is listed as Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act considered Vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN Red List. Current world population is about 4,200 individuals. Before they were hunted for their feathers millions once graced the skies of the North Pacific and beyond.
- Chicks were translocated from Torishima to Bonin Islands (Mokujima) from 2008-2012 to expand breeding colony range.
- A pair known as George and Geraldine on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge/Battle of Midway National Memorial has successfully nested on Sand Island since 2019. Short-tailed Albatross decoys have been in place on Eastern Island to entice more Short-tailed Albatrosses to nest there.
- Key threats: active volcano at primary nesting colony (Torishima) and longline fisheries, habitat loss on low-lying nesting islands such as Midway Atoll, particularly from rising seas caused by climate change and plastic debris.
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