Waved Albatross, Galapagos Islands by David Whited

Waved Albatross, Galapagos Islands

David Whited

Waved Albatross, Galapagos Islands

Digital photography

Inv: PH-1664

The waved albatross (*Phoebastria irrorata*) is the largest bird in the Galápagos Islands and the only albatross species found in the tropics, breeding almost exclusively on Española Island, where its cliffside runways give it enough of a headwind to launch its roughly 8-foot wingspan into flight; it's known for an elaborate, almost comical courtship ritual involving bill-circling, bowing, and a distinctive "clacking" of beaks, and mated pairs, which stay together for life, take turns incubating a single egg and later regurgitate oily, nutrient-rich squid and fish to feed their chick. Outside the breeding season the species disperses widely over the eastern Pacific, but because its entire breeding population is concentrated on one small island, it's classified as Critically Endangered, vulnerable to threats like fishing bycatch, disease, and climate-driven shifts in food availability.