Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata Scientific name definitions

Among albatrosses, the Waved Albatross has a unique distribution, and striking morphological features, which make it unmistakable. While most species are either concentrated to the south of the Tropic of Capricorn or north of the Tropic of Cancer, the Waved Albatross occurs almost exclusively off the northwest coast of South America and is thus the only species to occur exclusively within tropical latitudes. The species nests primarily on Española (Hood) Island in the Galápagos archipelago but also has a small colony on Isla de la Plata off the coast of Ecuador. The breeding season starts when the albatrosses return to land in March. Non-breeders range at sea off the coasts of Ecuador, Peru, and northern Chile, where they feed on large fish and squid. Due to the nocturnal habits of the squid, Waved Albatross often forages primarily at night.

The species is classified as Critically Endangered, as the population suffered a heavy decrease between 1994 and 2008; also, it is very sensitive to the vagaries caused by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, and Waved Albatross further suffers from incidental and targeted capture by fisheries (1 Anderson, D. J., K. P. Huyvaert, D. R. Wood, C. L. Gillikin, B. J. Frost, and H. Mouritsen (2003). At-sea distribution of waved albatrosses and the Galápagos Marine Reserve. Biological Conservation 110(3):367–373. Close , 2 Anderson, D. J., K. P. Huyvaert, J. A. Awkerman, C. B. Proaño, W. B. Milstead, G. Jiménez-Uzcátegui, S. Cruz, and J. K. Grace (2008). Population status of the critically endangered waved albatross Phoebastria irrorata, 1999 to 2007. Endangered Species Research 5:185–192. Close ).