The sooty albatross, also known to sailors as the Quaker, is a species of marine bird belonging to the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is a medium-sized albatross that sports a sooty-brown or sooty-black color. It can be found in the southern Atlantic Ocean, the southern Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean. This bird scavenges for squid, fish, and carrion. Like other albatrosses, these birds mate for life and return to the same breeding spots every season. A single pair will mate every other year on a variety of islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean and the southern Indian Ocean islands. This bird is an endangered species and conservation efforts are taking place.
Region
Southern Atlantic and Indian Oceans
Typical Environment
At sea it ranges widely over temperate and subantarctic waters of the Southern Ocean, especially in the southern Atlantic and Indian sectors. It breeds on remote islands including Tristan da Cunha and Gough, Prince Edward and Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, and Amsterdam & St Paul. Nesting sites are typically steep coastal cliffs and slopes with sparse vegetation. At sea it frequents open pelagic waters, frontal zones, and shelf edges, seldom approaching land outside the breeding season.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 600 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the Quaker by sailors, the sooty albatross is a sleek, long-tailed albatross that spends most of its life soaring over the southern oceans. Pairs form long-term bonds, laying a single egg and typically breeding every other year on remote, windswept islands. It is an expert dynamic soarer, using wind and waves to travel vast distances with minimal effort. Major threats include bycatch in longline fisheries and predation by introduced mammals at breeding sites.
Immature
Stuffed specimen at the Natural History Museum, Vienna
Sooty albatross on Crozet Island
Sooty albatross on Amsterdam Island
Temperament
solitary and pelagic, gathering at colonies to breed
Flight Pattern
soaring glider using dynamic soaring over waves
Social Behavior
Outside the breeding season it is mostly solitary or in small loose aggregations at feeding hotspots. At colonies, birds form long-term monogamous pairs that perform ritualized displays. They lay a single egg on a cliff ledge and both parents share incubation and chick-rearing, typically breeding biennially.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Generally quiet at sea, it becomes vocal at colonies with wailing whistles, croaks, and moans. Bill-clapping and soft grunts accompany courtship and territorial interactions.
