Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos)

Adults arrive at their breeding colonies between late August and early September, where the female lays a single egg in a nest built on a pedestal of mud. Part of a monogamous pair, both the male and the female contribute to the care of the egg and the hatchling, taking turns to incubate the egg and provide the chick with regurgitated food. The chick fledges in April and May, but do not breed until, on average, the age of ten (3) (4). An agile bird, the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross often scavenges at fishing vessels and overcomes its size disadvantage by manoeuvring close enough to the boat to retrieve scraps thrown overboard. It will also steal prey from white-chinned petrels and makes use of the hunting tactics of tuna and cetaceans by plunge-diving for the fish they drive to the surface. Its diet consists of fish, crustaceans, squid and fishery by-catch (3).

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