Wandering Albatross
Photo · Mark Jobling

BirdUp · Species

Wandering Albatross

Diomedea exulansLinnaeus, 1758

EndangeredNative
Order
PROCELLARIIFORMES
Conservation
Endangered
Commonness
Rare
Best seen
Year-round

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The snowy albatross, also known as the wandering albatross, white-winged albatross, or goonie, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae; they have a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It is the largest species of albatross and was long considered to be the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross. Together with the Amsterdam albatross, it forms the wandering albatross species complex, which some began referring to more recently as "snowy".

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

02 · Where

Where to find it

Breeding range
High-latitude islands of South Georgia, Prince Edward (south of South Africa, south-west South Atlantic Ocean), Crozet (south of Madagascar), Heard, Kerguelen, and Macquarie Island (south of Australia)
Non-breeding range
Widespread all southern oceans

03 · When

When to look

Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.

  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

The BirdUp app

Log your next Wandering Albatross in the field

A pocket field journal for 850+ Australian birds. Offline-first, smart ID, and a lifelist that travels with you.