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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Diomedeidae
  4. ›
  5. Thalassarche
  6. ›
  7. Salvin's Albatross
Salvin's Albatross
Photo · Mjobling at English Wikipedia

BirdUp · Species

Salvin's Albatross

Thalassarche salvini(Rothschild, 1893)

Updated 21 March 2026

Conservation status: VulnerableOrigin: Native
Order
PROCELLARIIFORMES
Family
Diomedeidae
Genus
Thalassarche

At a glance

The Salvin's Albatross, listed as Vulnerable and native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Conservation status
Vulnerable
Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Rare
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

Salvin's albatross or Salvin's mollymawk, is a large seabird that breeds mainly on the Bounty Islands of New Zealand, with scant amounts on islands across the Southern Ocean. A medium-sized mollymawk, it was long considered to be a subspecies of the shy albatross.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Weight
2200–4900 g
Wingspan
245 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Salvin's Albatross?

The Salvin's Albatross is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Salvin's Albatross eat?

The Salvin's Albatross feeds on fish/invertebrates, usually foraging alone.

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Salvin's Albatross live in Australia?

The Salvin's Albatross is native to Australia, recorded across 11 of Australia’s bioregions.

Breeding range
IO, PO : Bounty (most of population; east of Stewart I.), west Snares (south of South I.; New Zealand) and Crozet is. (few; South Indian Ocean)
Non-breeding range
To temperate and subtropical waters off south-east Australia, west coast of South America, and south Africa