Biologists on Midway Atoll have discovered that a female Laysan albatross named Wisdom, over 70 years old, is courting a potential mate months after the nesting season has ended.
The world’s oldest wild bird is seeking a new partner on the remote island off the coast of Hawaii, following the loss of her long-time companion. Wisdom the Laysan albatross is likely over 70 years old and has been flying around the North Pacific since the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Wisdom the albatross (far right) actively courting a new potential mate. (Photo: USFWS)
Biologists first identified Wisdom in 1956 and placed a band on her right leg, which remains there today. The albatross was already an adult when she was banded, suggesting she may be 72 years old, living over 20 years longer than the average lifespan of her species. “Wisdom, the world’s oldest wild bird, was photographed last month at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, dancing with a potential mate,” said a representative from the Pacific region of USFWS. “Her long-time partner Akeakamai has yet to return and has been missing for the past two nesting seasons.”
Laysan albatrosses (Phoebastria immutabilis) are long-lived seabirds that mate for life. They are named after the population of 145,000 pairs on Laysan, an island northwest of Hawaii, about 1,500 km from Honolulu. Female Laysan albatrosses typically lay one egg in early December, but Wisdom continues to engage in courtship dances until spring, according to Jonathan Plissner, a biologist at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge located 2,110 km from Honolulu.
Midway Atoll hosts the largest population of Laysan albatrosses in the world, with 600,000 breeding pairs returning to the two sandy islands each year. According to Plissner, Wisdom was actively courting other birds in March. She has been less frequently spotted on Midway Atoll since the start of the nesting season in late November 2023. Plissner does not expect Wisdom to nest this year, but she still appears quite agile for her age.
USFWS scientists estimate that the elderly albatross has flown 5.6 million kilometers in her lifetime, equivalent to seven round trips to the Moon. Laysan albatrosses begin breeding at 3 to 4 years of age, according to the American Bird Conservancy, indicating that Wisdom has laid around 60 eggs in her lifetime, with about half hatching into chicks, while the others may have not hatched or were lost to predators.
Between nesting seasons, Wisdom spends nearly half the year at sea, soaring across the Pacific sky for hours without flapping her 3-foot wings. Like many other Laysan albatrosses, she powers her long flights by feeding on small squid, fish eggs, fish, and crustaceans.
