Laysan Albatross
Encyclopedia
The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is a large seabird
that ranges across the North Pacific. This small (for its family
) two-tone gull-like albatross
is the second most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands
, with an estimated population of 2.5 million birds, and is currently expanding (or possibly re-expanding) its range to new islands. The Laysan Albatross was first described as Diomedea immutabilis by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in 1893, based on a specimen from Laysan Island.
, one of its breeding colonies in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
.
is pink with a dark tip. Juveniles have a grey bill and a dark upper rump. They do not have a breeding plumage.
The Laysan Albatross is usually easy to identify, in the North Pacific it is simple to separate from the other relatively common albatross, the all black Black-footed Albatross
. It can be distinguished from the very rare Short-tailed Albatross
by its all dark back and smaller size. The Laysan Albatross' plumage
has been compared to that of a gull
, two tone with a dark grey mantle and wings, and white underside and head.
, particularly the islands of Midway
and Laysan
. It also nests in the Bonin Islands near Japan
, the French Frigate Shoals
, and has began to colonize islands off Mexico
, such as Guadalupe Island
and others in the Revillagigedo Archipelago. When away from the breeding areas they range widely from Japan to the Bering Sea
and south to 15°N.
The Laysan Albatross is normally a silent bird, but on occasion they may be observed emitting long "moo"-ing sounds, descending whinnies, or rattles. Female Laysan albatrosses bond for life, so they can cooperatively raise their young. A female Laysan Albatross known as "Wisdom" is the oldest known wild bird in the United States or the Northern Hemisphere
. "Wisdom" was banded by a U.S. Geological Survey researcher in 1956, and in March 2011 was seen rearing a new chick on Midway Atoll. Because Laysan albatrosses can't breed until they are five years old, as of 2011 "Wisdom" is estimated to be at least 60 years old.
s, often in huge numbers, and builds different styles of nests depending on the surroundings, ranging from simple scoops in the sand to nests using vegetation. Laysan Albatrosses have a protracted breeding cycle, and breed annually, although some birds skip years. Juvenile birds return to the colony three years after fledging
, but do not mate for the first time until seven or eight years old. During these four or five years they form pair bonds with a mate that they will keep for life. Courtship entails especially elaborate 'dances' that have up to 25 ritualized movements.
Occasionally the birds form homosexual pairs consisting of two females. This has been observed in the colony on the Hawaiian island Oahu, where the sex-ratio of male to female is 2 to 3. Unpaired females pair up among themselves and successfully breed. Eggs are often fathered by paired males, who "cheat" on their spouse.
The single egg is buff-white, and it may have spots. Both birds incubate the egg
; the male does so first. Incubation
takes about 65 days, and is followed by several weeks of brooding, after which both parents are out at sea
to provide for the growing chick. The chick takes about 160 days to fledge. This time investment by the parents may explain the long courtship; both parents want to be sure the other is serious. The chicks are fed a stomach oil by the parents.
The Laysan Albatross and the Black-footed Albatross
have been known to hybridize.
The IUCN has classified the Laysan Albatross as vulnerable
due to drastic reductions in populations; however recent studies show that the population may be rebounding. The Laysan Albatross, while a common species
, has not yet recovered from the wide-scale hunting that happened in the early 1900s, with feather hunters killing many hundreds of thousands, and wiping them out from Wake Island
and Johnston Atoll
. This slaughter led to efforts to protect the species (and others) which led eventually to the protection of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The species is still vulnerable to longline fisheries, and the ingestion of floating plastics. Feral cat
s are known to prey on nesting birds and chicks on some of the newer colonized islands. In some places big headed ants are a threat to young albatross chicks.
The Laysan Albatross has an occurrence range of 38800000 km² (14,980,763.8 sq mi) and a breeding range of 3500 km² (1,351.4 sq mi) with a population of 1,180,000 mature birds estimated in 2006. Midway Atoll
, Laysan Island, and the French Frigate Shoals
have more than 90% of the breeding pairs at 551,940. Bonin Island has 23 pairs and offshore Mexico
has about 400 pairs with 337 pair on Isla Guadalupe. The northwestern Hawaiian Islands
have suffered a 32% reduction in breeders from 1992 to 2002. However, the last three years has seen a rebound that stabilized the period between 1992 and 2005. This species was extirpated from Wake Atoll, Johnston Atoll
, and Minami Torishima
. The Mexican
population has been increasing since its inception.
In the past harvesting for feathers was a major threat, along with high seas drift nets; however both of these have ceased, barring some small-scale illegal drift net operations. Current threats today are the longline fisheries.
is killing thousands of Laysan Albatross each year on Midway Atoll, part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument created by President George Bush in June 2006, and now known as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The Laysan Albatross has been globally listed as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union
, and is a special trust species on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the newly established National Monument.
"Laysan chicks raised in nests close to 90 buildings left behind by the Navy are ingesting lead-based paint chips. This is causing shockingly high lead concentrations in their blood, leading to severe neurological disorders, and eventual death," said George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy. "Federal funds are urgently needed to cleanup this toxic mess to protect the Laysan Albatross as well as future visitors to the new Marine National Monument."
Scientific studies have shown that Laysan Albatross chicks are eating lead-based paint chips peeling off of 95 aging buildings on the island; and that as many as 10,000 chicks, or five percent of hatched chicks, may be killed annually by exposure to lead-based paint. Many Laysan chicks that nest within five meters of building structures exhibit a condition referred to as "droopwing" which commonly manifests itself in the chicks’ inability to raise their wings, which drag on the ground resulting in broken bones and open sores. Chicks with droopwing will never be able to fly, and will die of starvation or dehydration. Other chicks within close proximity to buildings also suffer detrimental effects from lead exposure. These chicks have blood lead concentrations that cause immunological, neurological, and renal impairments, significantly decreasing their chances of survival.
The Department of the Interior
(DOI) estimates that $5.6 million is needed to clean up the toxic lead paint on Midway Atoll. The 95 federally-owned government buildings must be stripped of all lead-based paint, and sand areas surrounding these old buildings need to be thoroughly sifted to remove lead paint chips. When American Bird Conservancy
staff presented the severity of this growing threat to an already-imperiled bird species to DOI officials, they were told that the new Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument did not have any federal funds dedicated to its operation. Moreover, the DOI officials stated that the current federal budget for the nation’s wildlife refuge system would be insufficient to prevent the continued ingestion of lead paint by Laysan chicks.
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
that ranges across the North Pacific. This small (for its family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
) two-tone gull-like albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
is the second most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, with an estimated population of 2.5 million birds, and is currently expanding (or possibly re-expanding) its range to new islands. The Laysan Albatross was first described as Diomedea immutabilis by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in 1893, based on a specimen from Laysan Island.
Etymology
It is named for LaysanLaysan
Laysan , located northwest of Honolulu at N25° 42' 14" W171° 44' 04", is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of , about 1 by 1.5 miles in size . It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow central lake some above sea level that has...
, one of its breeding colonies in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or the Leeward Islands are the small islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. They are administered by the U.S. state of Hawaii except Midway Atoll, which has temporary residential facilities and is...
.
Description
The Laysan Albatross averages 81 cm (31.9 in) in length, and has a wingspan of 195 to 203 cm (76.8 to 79.9 in),. Males, which weigh 2.4 to 4.1 kg (5.3 to 9 lb), being larger than females, which weigh 1.9 to 3.6 kg (4.2 to 7.9 lb). This albatross has blackish-grey upperwing, mantle, back, upper rump, and tail, and their head, lower rump, and underparts are white. It has a black smudge around the eye, and its underwing pattern varies between individuals, with some having narrower black margins and variable amounts of black in the underwing coverts. Finally, their billBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is pink with a dark tip. Juveniles have a grey bill and a dark upper rump. They do not have a breeding plumage.
The Laysan Albatross is usually easy to identify, in the North Pacific it is simple to separate from the other relatively common albatross, the all black Black-footed Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
The Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes, is a large seabird from the North Pacific of the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands...
. It can be distinguished from the very rare Short-tailed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus, is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean...
by its all dark back and smaller size. The Laysan Albatross' plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
has been compared to that of a gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
, two tone with a dark grey mantle and wings, and white underside and head.
Distribution and habitat
The Laysan Albatross has a wide range across the North Pacific with 16 nesting sites. Its main breeding colonies are in the Hawaiian IslandsHawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, particularly the islands of Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
and Laysan
Laysan
Laysan , located northwest of Honolulu at N25° 42' 14" W171° 44' 04", is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of , about 1 by 1.5 miles in size . It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow central lake some above sea level that has...
. It also nests in the Bonin Islands near Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the French Frigate Shoals
French Frigate Shoals
The French Frigate Shoals is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals...
, and has began to colonize islands off Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, such as Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...
and others in the Revillagigedo Archipelago. When away from the breeding areas they range widely from Japan to the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
and south to 15°N.
Behavior
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
. "Wisdom" was banded by a U.S. Geological Survey researcher in 1956, and in March 2011 was seen rearing a new chick on Midway Atoll. Because Laysan albatrosses can't breed until they are five years old, as of 2011 "Wisdom" is estimated to be at least 60 years old.
Reproduction
The Laysan Albatross is colonial, nesting on scattered small islands and atollAtoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
s, often in huge numbers, and builds different styles of nests depending on the surroundings, ranging from simple scoops in the sand to nests using vegetation. Laysan Albatrosses have a protracted breeding cycle, and breed annually, although some birds skip years. Juvenile birds return to the colony three years after fledging
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
, but do not mate for the first time until seven or eight years old. During these four or five years they form pair bonds with a mate that they will keep for life. Courtship entails especially elaborate 'dances' that have up to 25 ritualized movements.
Occasionally the birds form homosexual pairs consisting of two females. This has been observed in the colony on the Hawaiian island Oahu, where the sex-ratio of male to female is 2 to 3. Unpaired females pair up among themselves and successfully breed. Eggs are often fathered by paired males, who "cheat" on their spouse.
The single egg is buff-white, and it may have spots. Both birds incubate the egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
; the male does so first. Incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
takes about 65 days, and is followed by several weeks of brooding, after which both parents are out at sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
to provide for the growing chick. The chick takes about 160 days to fledge. This time investment by the parents may explain the long courtship; both parents want to be sure the other is serious. The chicks are fed a stomach oil by the parents.
The Laysan Albatross and the Black-footed Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
The Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes, is a large seabird from the North Pacific of the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands...
have been known to hybridize.
Feeding
The Laysan Albatross feeds predominantly on cephalopods, but will also eat fish, crustaceans, and other invertebrates.Conservation
| Breeding Location | Breeding Pair | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Midway Atoll Midway Atoll Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour... |
441,178 pair | Stable from 1992 to 2005 |
| Laysan Island | 103,689 | Stable from 1992 to 2005 |
| French Frigate Shoals French Frigate Shoals The French Frigate Shoals is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals... |
Stable from 1992 to 2005 | |
| Other northwestern Hawaiian Islands Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... |
||
| Torishima | 1,218 | Unknown |
| Bonin Islands | 23 | Unknown |
| Islas Guadalupe Guadalupe Island Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean... |
337 | Increasing |
| Other offshore Mexican Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... islands |
63 | Increasing |
| Total | 590,926 | -30 to 49 % over 85 years |
The IUCN has classified the Laysan Albatross as vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
due to drastic reductions in populations; however recent studies show that the population may be rebounding. The Laysan Albatross, while a common species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, has not yet recovered from the wide-scale hunting that happened in the early 1900s, with feather hunters killing many hundreds of thousands, and wiping them out from Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
and Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean about west of Hawaii. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island and East Island , an additional two...
. This slaughter led to efforts to protect the species (and others) which led eventually to the protection of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The species is still vulnerable to longline fisheries, and the ingestion of floating plastics. Feral cat
Feral cat
A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
s are known to prey on nesting birds and chicks on some of the newer colonized islands. In some places big headed ants are a threat to young albatross chicks.
The Laysan Albatross has an occurrence range of 38800000 km² (14,980,763.8 sq mi) and a breeding range of 3500 km² (1,351.4 sq mi) with a population of 1,180,000 mature birds estimated in 2006. Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
, Laysan Island, and the French Frigate Shoals
French Frigate Shoals
The French Frigate Shoals is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals...
have more than 90% of the breeding pairs at 551,940. Bonin Island has 23 pairs and offshore Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
has about 400 pairs with 337 pair on Isla Guadalupe. The northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
have suffered a 32% reduction in breeders from 1992 to 2002. However, the last three years has seen a rebound that stabilized the period between 1992 and 2005. This species was extirpated from Wake Atoll, Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean about west of Hawaii. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island and East Island , an additional two...
, and Minami Torishima
Minami Torishima
or Marcus Island is an isolated Japanese coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located some SE of Tokyo and east of the closest Japanese island, South Iwo Jima of the Ogasawara Islands, and nearly on a straight line between Tokyo and Wake Island, which is east southeast...
. The Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
population has been increasing since its inception.
In the past harvesting for feathers was a major threat, along with high seas drift nets; however both of these have ceased, barring some small-scale illegal drift net operations. Current threats today are the longline fisheries.
Midway Atoll
Lead poisoningAnimal lead poisoning
Animal lead poisoning is a veterinary condition and pathology caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in animal's body....
is killing thousands of Laysan Albatross each year on Midway Atoll, part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument created by President George Bush in June 2006, and now known as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The Laysan Albatross has been globally listed as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union
World Conservation Union
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international organization dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges." The organization publishes the IUCN Red List, compiling information from a network of...
, and is a special trust species on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the newly established National Monument.
"Laysan chicks raised in nests close to 90 buildings left behind by the Navy are ingesting lead-based paint chips. This is causing shockingly high lead concentrations in their blood, leading to severe neurological disorders, and eventual death," said George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy. "Federal funds are urgently needed to cleanup this toxic mess to protect the Laysan Albatross as well as future visitors to the new Marine National Monument."
Scientific studies have shown that Laysan Albatross chicks are eating lead-based paint chips peeling off of 95 aging buildings on the island; and that as many as 10,000 chicks, or five percent of hatched chicks, may be killed annually by exposure to lead-based paint. Many Laysan chicks that nest within five meters of building structures exhibit a condition referred to as "droopwing" which commonly manifests itself in the chicks’ inability to raise their wings, which drag on the ground resulting in broken bones and open sores. Chicks with droopwing will never be able to fly, and will die of starvation or dehydration. Other chicks within close proximity to buildings also suffer detrimental effects from lead exposure. These chicks have blood lead concentrations that cause immunological, neurological, and renal impairments, significantly decreasing their chances of survival.
The Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
(DOI) estimates that $5.6 million is needed to clean up the toxic lead paint on Midway Atoll. The 95 federally-owned government buildings must be stripped of all lead-based paint, and sand areas surrounding these old buildings need to be thoroughly sifted to remove lead paint chips. When American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy
American Bird Conservancy is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas...
staff presented the severity of this growing threat to an already-imperiled bird species to DOI officials, they were told that the new Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument did not have any federal funds dedicated to its operation. Moreover, the DOI officials stated that the current federal budget for the nation’s wildlife refuge system would be insufficient to prevent the continued ingestion of lead paint by Laysan chicks.
External links
- Laysan Albatross Images http://tsuru-bird.net/image.htm Copyright 2009 Monte M. Taylor
- BirdLife International: Laysan Albatross
- Pictures from Laysan Albatross on jostimages.com