Black-footed Albatross
The Black-footed Albatross nests primarily on the Hawaiian Islands. It wanders widely across the northern Pacific for most of the year
The large Sea Bird with long, narrow wings and mostly black. Also has a keen sense of smell as a result helps locate its food.
The black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae from the North Pacific.
All but 2.5% of the population is found among the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands. Unlike many albatrosses, it is dark plumaged.
The black-footed albatross is a small member of the albatross family (while still large compared to most other seabirds) that has almost all black plumage
Also Some adults show white undertail coverts, and all adults have white markings around the base of the beak and below the eye. As the birds age they acquire more white at the base of the beak.
An estimated 4,000 are taken every year, based on the number taken in 1990; other estimates put the number at 8,000, although more recent numbers are at around 6,150 per year with the majority of deaths from Taiwanese and Japanese fishing fleets.
It is also vulnerable to oil and ingestion of floating plastics, which reduces the space in the stomach available for food to be brought to the chick.
The black-footed albatross has an occurrence range of 37,600,000 km2 (14,500,000 sq mi) and a breeding range of 28 km2 (11 sq mi), with a population of 129,000 adult birds. Of these birds 24,000 pairs breed on Midway Atoll and 21,000 pairs breed on Laysan Island.
