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Northern Royal Albatross
(Diomedea sanfordi)
: "toroa"
Size: 1.1-1.2 m; wing span 2.7-3.05 m
Weight: 6.2-8.2 kg
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Northern Royal Albatrosses are very big seabirds with a black-and-white
plumage.
Adult birds
have a narrow black fringe around the underwings, extending from the
alula outwards
and all around the trailing edge of the wing.
The upperwings are entirely black. Otherwise the body, from head
to tail, both front and back, is white.
The bill is flesh-pink with a yellowish tip, the irises are black.
Legs and feet are pinkish-grey.
Juvenile
birds are similar to
adults,
but with dark markings on back and rump and on the tips of the
tail feathers.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Northern
Royal Albatross at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Northern Royal Albatross is available
HERE
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At sea the range of Wandering Albatrosses is circumpolar, from -30
to -45 degrees geographic latitude. Their breeding colonies are in
New Zealand. Apart from Tairaroa Head, on South Island, they are
also found on the Chatham
islands.
In Australia they reach
coastal waters
off the Australian continent anywhere along the southern
half of the continent, from South of Sydney on the NSW
coast to the south-western tip of WA. They are mostly
present in waters to the East of Tasmania.
Northern Royal Albatrosses are
pelagic
birds that spend most of their time out on the open ocean and in
coastal waters.
They breed on
offshore islands.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
M. Eaton reports finding Northern Royal Albatrosses
on a pelagic off Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, in September 2021.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this page
has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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Near-lateral view of a Northern Royal Albatross
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Off Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]
Lateral view of a Northern Royal Albatross
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Off Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]
Near-dorsal view of a Northern Royal Albatross
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Off Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]
Near-dorsal comparison between a Northern Royal Albatross, right, and a
Southern Royal Albatross
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Off Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Near-dorsal view of a banking Northern Royal Albatross; the dark
markings on back and rump indicate that this is a juvenile
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Off Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.