Image description
The image shows a medium-sized, predatory seabird, larger than a seagull, called an albatross, with a convex and flattened body, oval, finished with a short and sharp tail, with long and narrow wings, which helps it to hover the body in the air a long time.
It has a round head, directed to the right side, with a short, thick neck, a long, arched beak at the tip, and small, round eyes.
The body is balanced on two short legs ending in wide paws.
The albatross in the image, viewed from the side, has the wing rendered by wavy texture, the eye highlighted by a full circle in relief, the beak represented by dotted texture, and the whole body rendered full in relief.
Historical data
Albatross is the common name under which birds of the family Diomedeidae are known, which includes about 23 species, from the size of a goose to the size of a swan. Albatrosses range from the Arctic to the tropics. Only three species of albatross breed north of the equator. Albatrosses can stay in the oceans for months, sleeping on the waves. The birds in this group, thanks to their long and narrow wings, are excellent fliers, being able to glide for a long time by using drafts, without flapping their wings. Albatrosses are birds of prey of great voracity, feeding on the chicks of other animals or seabirds [bibliography 1].
Based on molecular research, ornithologists claim that the family of albatrosses is about 30-35 million years old. Albatrosses, although they look like seagulls, are not at all. In fact, the largest seagull in the world looks like a pygmy sitting next to the imposing albatross. The Southern Albatross (Diomedea exulans), or the King Albatross or Royal Albatross, as it is also called, is the bird with the largest wingspan in the world. It is even larger than the condor. On average, the distance between the open-winged tips of the royal albatross reaches dimensions between 2.50-3, 50 meters, the largest measured specimen having an incredible wingspan of 3.70 meters.
The length from the snout to the tail reaches 1.07-1.35 meters, the males being slightly larger than the females. The weight of these masters of the sky above the waves also reaches considerable values, of 6-12 kilograms.
No species of albatrosses live and do not even migrate near Romanian maritime waters.All species of albatrosses live in the waters and on the shores of the oceans, the largest populations being observed in the coastal areas of South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. The four species of albatrosses that prefer the waters of the North Pacific are found from the Galapagos to Alaska and Japan.Like the vast majority of seabirds, albatrosses live in large colonies. They nest only on isolated islands, as far away from human presence and intrusion as possible. Some species, such as the black-legged albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) hatch under trees, but most nest in either beach sand or stony areas.
Albatrosses only nest on islands where terrestrial predators have never lived, and each albatross will return to mate and raise its young on the same island it hatched.They feed mainly on cephalopods, fish and small crustaceans, although if they have the opportunity, they consume corpses without problems.Until recently, albatrosses were thought to feed predominantly on the surface of the water, with fish, cephalopods and crustaceans being pushed to the surface by sea currents or predators. However, recent studies have shown that some species of albatrosses dive in search of prey to depths of 4-5 meters.There are birds that live a long time, among them there are records of longevity in the world of birds. Most specimens reach the age of 50 years, the oldest known specimen being one of the species of the royal northern albatross (Diomedea sanfordi), which is about 61 years old.They become sexually mature relatively late, around the age of 5, but start looking for a partner and start a couple only at 10 years old. Albatrosses, along with swans, pelicans, crows and birds of prey, are monogamous, very loyal species that mate for life, any partner looking for another bird only if his life partner died accidentally or was killed [bibliography 2 ].
Bibliography:
- Wikipedia, disponibil online la https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros accesat la 21 octombrie 2019
- Descoperă.ro, disponibil online la https://www.descopera.ro/natura/9761210-albatrosii-suveranii-cerului-si-ai-valurilor accesat la 21 octombrie 2019
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