Albatrosses are built for life over the open ocean: enormous wings help them travel long distances with few wingbeats, and specialized salt glands let them drink seawater. They are also devoted parents with slow-growing young, which makes the adults they lose to fishing gear especially difficult to replace.
Here are eight remarkable albatross facts, from their flight and courtship to the threats they face.
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1. Albatrosses have the longest wingspans of any living birds
The Wandering Albatross can reach a wingspan of about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet), the largest known wingspan of any living bird. Other species are smaller, but even the Black-footed Albatross can span roughly 2.5 meters (8 feet).
| Albatross | Approximate wingspan |
|---|---|
| Wandering Albatross | 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) |
| Black-footed Albatross | 2.5 meters (8 feet) |
Their long, narrow wings are well suited to gliding across windy ocean waters.
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2. They fly using dynamic soaring
Albatrosses conserve energy with a technique called dynamic soaring, repeatedly moving between layers of air that travel at different speeds.
- Climb into faster-moving air above the ocean.
- Turn and descend toward the surface.
- Gain energy while crossing between faster and slower air.
- Repeat the process, often covering long distances with very few wingbeats.
Albatrosses do not “never flap.” They flap during takeoff, climbing, maneuvering, and flight in weak winds. When wind speeds fall below roughly 18 kilometers per hour, sustained flight becomes energetically difficult. (Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; NOAA.)
3. Some can travel more than 16,000 kilometers on one trip
Albatrosses spend most of their lives over the open ocean and typically return to land to breed. A single foraging trip can cover more than 16,000 kilometers (about 9,900 miles). Gray-headed Albatrosses have been recorded completing a circumnavigation of the globe in 46 days.
They use strong winds to travel while searching for food. Adults may go far from a breeding site before returning to feed their chick. (Sources: BirdLife International; British Antarctic Survey.)
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4. Albatrosses can drink seawater
Albatrosses get water from their food and from seawater. Specialized salt glands above their eyes remove excess salt from the birds’ blood. The concentrated salt solution passes through ducts and is excreted near the bill. This adaptation is common among ocean-going tubenose seabirds. (Sources: NOAA; Cornell Lab of Ornithology.)
5. Their courtship dances can take years to perfect
Young albatrosses practice elaborate displays that can include bowing, bill-touching, head movements, wing-spreading, foot-lifting, and distinctive calls. Laysan Albatrosses commonly begin breeding at around 8 or 9 years old, although some can breed earlier.
Albatrosses commonly form long-term pair bonds, but “mate for life” is not an absolute rule: pairs can separate, particularly when breeding conditions deteriorate. (Sources: BirdLife International; U.S. Geological Survey; Audubon.)
6. Most pairs raise only one chick at a time
An albatross pair lays one egg, and both parents share incubation and chick-rearing duties. Depending on the species, incubation lasts roughly two to three months, and a chick may remain in the nest for several more months before fledging. Some species breed only every other year because raising a chick is so demanding.
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After fledging, some young albatrosses remain at sea for three to five years before returning to land. (Sources: NOAA; Royal Society; British Antarctic Survey; Audubon/Cornell Lab.)
7. Albatrosses can live for many decades
Albatrosses are among the longest-lived birds. The Laysan Albatross known as Wisdom was first banded in 1956 and was estimated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be approximately 75 years old when she returned to Midway Atoll for the 2025–26 nesting season. Her exact birth date is unknown: she was already at least about five years old when banded, so 75 is an estimate, not a precisely documented age. (Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; ACAP.)
A long lifespan does not mean albatross populations can recover quickly. Because these birds mature late and produce few chicks, losing breeding adults can have a major effect on a colony.
8. Fishing is their greatest modern threat
Albatrosses are attracted to bait behind commercial fishing vessels. In longline fisheries, a bird may seize a baited hook, be dragged underwater, and drown. Trawl cables and other fishing gear also cause deaths. The British Antarctic Survey reports that more than 100,000 albatrosses are killed by longline fishing each year.
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Why albatross conservation matters
Albatrosses are especially vulnerable to population losses because they may wait years to breed and raise only one chick at a time. Safer fishing practices and protection of breeding islands can reduce some of the risks they face at sea and on land.
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How big is an albatross?
The Wandering Albatross can have a wingspan of about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet). A Black-footed Albatross may span roughly 2.5 meters (8 feet). (Source: BirdLife International.)
Do albatrosses really never flap their wings?
No. They rely heavily on dynamic soaring, but flap during takeoff, climbing, maneuvering, and flight in weak winds. (Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; NOAA.)
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How long do albatrosses live?
Albatrosses can live for many decades. Wisdom, a Laysan Albatross first banded in 1956, was estimated to be approximately 75 years old during the 2025–26 nesting season. (Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)
What is the biggest threat to albatrosses?
Commercial fishing is a major modern threat. Albatrosses can take baited hooks from longline vessels and drown, while trawl cables and other gear can also kill them. Invasive predators and plastic ingestion are additional risks. (Sources: British Antarctic Survey; BirdLife International.)
The Bottom Line
Albatrosses combine huge wingspans, wind-powered flight, ocean-drinking adaptations, and decades-long lives. Their slow breeding means fishing deaths can remove adults that are difficult for a colony to replace. Safer fishing methods and protection of breeding islands are important ways to help these seabirds.
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