South Georgia-Falklands Expedition Report - Part 3 - Black-browed Albatross


Albatross - Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Diomedeidae

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 640

Albatrosses are large long-winged seabirds seen in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. Of the 22 species recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Black-browed Albatross is the most common and the most widespread. These birds are mostly pelagic (exclusively at sea) returning to land only to breed. According to Wikipedia of the estimated 1,220,000 Black-browed Albatrosses alive (600,000 breeding pairs) nearly 80 per cent breed in the Falklands (67%) and on South Georgia Island (13%).


Crop of Image 1

Black-browed Albatross (Diomedea melanophris). Melanophris comes from the Greek words melas or melanos meaning “black” and ophris which means “eyebrow”. The distinctive black eyebrow is illustrated above and if you look closely you can see some of the delicate individual hairs.


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 150 mm, Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 Lens
1/2000 sec at f/6.3, ISO 800

Note the large hook in the upper mandible and how the yellow-orange bill changes to a darker reddish-orange at the tip. Also note the small “tube” on the side of the bill. All members of the order Procellariiformes (“tubenoses”) have tubular nostrils. These are either on the sides of their bill (albatrosses) or on the top (all other tubenoses). The primary function is a matter of debate. Tubenoses have large salt glands which secrete a saturated salt solution that drains out of the nostril tubes. Tubenoses have a well-developed sense of smell and some evidence supports the suggestion that these tubes help channel airborne scents and, thereby, enhance olfactory cues involved in the location of food and breeding sites. There is also evidence for pressure-sensing nerves in the tubes that could be involved in the computation of airspeed in flight, information required for dynamic soaring, a flying technique that allows gliders to gain airspeed by crossing the boundary between two air masses of different velocities.

Link to Article of Interest.


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/4, ISO 64

The Black-browed Albatross has a white head, rump, and underparts. The underwing is predominantly white with broad, irregular, black margins.


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/4, ISO 64

The upper wings are dark grey. The adult Black-browed Alabatross has a wingspan of 7-8 ft, considerably shorter than that of the Wandering Albatross with a wingspan that ranges from 8 to almost 12 ft. Albatrosses are able to stay aloft in windy weather for hours without ever flapping their extremely long, narrow wings. An interesting quote from this source follows.

“Albatrosses travel huge distances with two techniques used by many long-winged seabirds: dynamic soaring and slope soaring. Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from the vertical wind gradient. The only effort expended is in the turns at the top and bottom of every such loop. This maneuver allows the bird to cover almost 1000 km/day without flapping its wings. Slope soaring uses the rising air on the windward side of large waves. Albatross have high glide ratios, around 22:1 to 23:1, meaning that for every metre they drop, they can travel forward 22 metres. They are aided in soaring by a shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing the wing to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure, a morphological adaptation they share with the giant petrels.”

Link to “unflappable albatross” article.

Link to “flapless flight” article.


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens
1/1000 sec at f/9, ISO 1000

Made from soil and grass, the nest is a shallow cup on top of a small pedestal.


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 120mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/6.3, ISO 640

Black-browed Albatross in nest with single egg , Saunders Island, Falklands


Four examples of beak touching, allopreening and other courtship interactions of Black-browed Albatross mates follow.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 97mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/6.6, ISO 800


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 97mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 135mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 150mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/6.3, ISO 2500


Three samples of the flight pattern of a Black-browed Albatross landing at a nesting site on a cliff on Saunders Island in the Falklands are show below.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 150mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/6.3, ISO 1250


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 150mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/6.3, ISO 1000


Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 150mm, 40-150mm f/2.8 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/6.3, ISO 800

David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.