Scientific name:
Diomedea exulans

Natural spread:
southern hemisphere

the Wanderalbatrosse belongs at all to the biggest Albatrossen and birds with 1,1 to 1,33 m of total-length and a maximum span of 3,3-3,8 m. These dimensionses are applicable to full-grown male animals; the females are immediately colored as far as on its black head-upper sides, remains smaller, however. The span of the wings, from which the 11 Handschwingen the most outer up to the opposite one, amounts 3-3,5 m, in exceptions until 4,5 m. The traveling-albatross is the span with it after the "biggest bird of the world." (By weight and length, it becomes from the condor [vultures] surpassed.) Furthermore, the number of 37 Armschwingen near the Wanderalbatrossen is the highest of all birds. The tail carries 12 tax-feathers and becomes 24 cm long; the mighty one, yellow or reddish colored beak reaches 17,5-20 cm of length. Wanderalbatrosse become heavy up to 8 kg. Older copies (10-20 years old) increasingly have more white in the plumage until the tops of the wings finally only take off black from the white rest-plumage.

Hikes Wanderalbatrosse carry its names completely rightly, because they move far over the southern oceans, over what they usually linger between 60° S and 30° S, back and forth; only occasionally, they venture as far as to the Tropic of Capricorn northwards. As very rare exception, Wanderalbatrosse get lost also on the northern hemisphere.

Brood Only to the incubation visits this Albatrosse land-mass, about there all young lone 2 years 1 big-moves in. Wanderalbatrosse often become sexually mature only after 7 years, and even then, the broods yet often are not canceled successfully. The brood-areas lie there Cunha, the Gough-Inseln, South-Georgia, the Marion, - prince-Edward, and Crozet-Inseln, the Kerguelen - on Tristan Auckland and antipodean-islands as well as on some wide small islands of the southern seas.

This wears out perform courtship display of the Albatrosse with strongly ritualized expression-movements. Beak-clatter, Schnabelfechten and Kopfhochwerfen belong to it like "dancing" step-consequences and a whole number of typical reputations as well. Otherwise, Wanderalbatrosse only rarely (usually in confrontations about food on the sea) express roughens, rasping reputations.

The brood-period lasts from December to April. Wanderalbatrosse brood colony-wisely from time to time, also individually sometimes, however, and an approximately 40 cm high ground-nest erects. Both alto-birds share the brood-business lasting 77-81 days and also the long period of the Jungenaufzucht. In the age of 8-9 months first becomes slowly young Wanderalbatrosse independently; they finally flew after 9-10 months.

In the youth-dress, these inhabitants of the open sea look mainly brown (white wing-undersides). After the independent-development, Wanderalbatrosse of its brood-area probably frequently move the Westwinddrift contrary to westward. Reached so rang birds from South-Georgia (islands east before South America's South-top) as far as after Australia.