The short-tailed albatross or Steller's albatross 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. It was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas from skins collected by Georg Wilhelm Steller. Once common, it was brought to the edge of extinction by the trade in feathers, but with protection efforts underway since the 1950s, the species is in the process of recovering with an increasing population trend. It is divided into two distinct subpopulations, one of which breeds on Tori-shima in the Izu islands south of Japan, and the other primarily on the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Region
North Pacific Ocean
Typical Environment
A highly pelagic seabird ranging across the North Pacific from Japan and the East China Sea to the Bering Sea, Aleutian chain, Gulf of Alaska, and down the California Current to the west coast of North America. It forages over shelf edges, seamounts, and productive upwelling zones where squid and fish concentrate. Breeding occurs primarily on small, windswept volcanic islands with open soil and sparse vegetation. Outside the breeding season it disperses widely over open ocean, often following productive frontal systems.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 300 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Once hunted to near extinction for its feathers, the short-tailed albatross has rebounded thanks to strict protections and intensive management since the mid-20th century. Adults are striking with a golden nape and a large bubblegum-pink bill tipped bluish. The main colony is on volcanic Torishima, which poses eruption risk, so conservationists have established and fostered alternative breeding sites. Bycatch in longline and gillnet fisheries remains a key threat.
A chick just before it left the Hawaiian archipelago
One of several chicks translocated to Muko-jima Island, Japan
Temperament
social at sea and colonial when breeding
Flight Pattern
soaring glider using dynamic and slope soaring over waves
Social Behavior
Breeds in dense colonies, forming long-term monogamous pairs. Builds low mound nests of soil and vegetation and lays a single egg per season. Both parents share incubation and chick-rearing duties, and fledglings spend several years at sea before returning to breed.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Generally quiet at sea; around colonies it produces grunts, moans, and bill-clacking during courtship displays. Soft croaks and nasal calls are used in pair interactions.
