The grey-headed albatross has a 2-meter wingspan, a white body, a grey head and neck, and a dark grey back and tail. They eat mainly fish, squid crustaceans – the young seem to eat mainly lampreys. The nest of this bird is in the shape of a cone consisting of mud and grasses. Like the other albatross species, they lay only one egg. Grey-headed albatross breed every two years. If the chick is successfully brought up, the parents will not breed the next year. After mating, the egg is usually laid in mid-October, and hatches during December. The chick takes about four days to chip out of its eggshell. After it chipped out, it is guarded for 3 weeks. For the grey-headed albatross, fledging and departure takes place mainly from mid-April to early June. Some of the oldest of these birds were found to be around 36 years old. This is very young compared to some of the other albatross species, such as the wandering albatross – which can live up to 80 years of age.

Geographic Distribution