Sooty albatross
| Sooty albatross | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Diomedeidae |
| Genus: | Phoebetria |
| Species: | P. fusca |
| Binomial name | |
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Phoebetria fusca (Hilsenberg, 1822) |
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The sooty albatross, dark-mantled sooty albatross or dark-mantled albatross, (Phoebetria fusca), is a species of bird in the albatross family. They breed on sub-Antarctic islands and range at sea across the Southern Ocean from South America to Australia.
Sooty albatrosses are a type of albatross that belongs to Diomedeidae family and comes from the Procellariiformes order, along with shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages which attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the albatross are on the sides of the bill, the bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides which is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as being an energy-rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, which is necessitated by the high amount of sea water that they imbibe. It excretes a richly saline solution from the nose.
The sooty albatross is a medium-sized albatross, measuring about 85 cm (33 in), with a 2 m (6.6 ft) wingspan. Adult body mass ranges from 2.1 to 3.4 kg (4.6 to 7.5 lb). It is sooty-brown with darker shading on the sides of its head. It has a white crescent above and behind its eye. Its bill is black with an orange or yellow sulcus. The tail of this albatross is wide diamond-shaped. Juveniles are similar to adults, although they can have paler feathers on the nape and upper back, possibly creating confusion with light-mantled albatross.
Their diet consists of squid,crustaceans, cephalopods, fish, and carrion.
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