shy albatross

File:Thalassarche cauta steadi2.jpg

This mollymawk was once considered to be the same species as the Salvin's albatross, Thalassarche salvini, and the Chatham albatross, Thalassarche eremita, but they were split around 2004. In 1998, Robertson and Nunn suggested a four-way split including the white-capped albatross, Thalassarche steadi.Robertson, C. J. R. & Nunn, G. B. (1998) The three-way split was accepted by Brooke in 2004,Brooke, M (2004) the ACAP in 2006,ACAP (2006) SACC in 2008,Remsen Jr., J. V. (2004)Remsen Jr., J. V. (2005)Remsen Jr., J. V. (2008) and BirdLife International by 2000.BirdLife International (2008b) James Clements was the last major holdout on the three-way splitClements, J. (2007) but later accepted it.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ The fourth split, steadi, was only accepted by the ACAP in 2006, and BirdLife International in 2008. Finally, following Brooke, this species was shifted from Diomedea to Thalassarche, which was generally agreed upon by most experts.{{cn|date=June 2020}}

Some authorities, notably the American Ornithological Society, call this species the white-capped albatross.Remsen Jr., J. V. (2008)(a)

Mollymawks belong to the albatross family, Diomedeidae, which shares the order Procellariiformes with shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. Procellariiformes have certain identifying features. They have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill, called naricorns (although the nostrils on the albatross are on the sides of the bill). The bills are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy-rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights.Double, M. C. (2003) They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, required due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.Ehrlich, Paul R. (1988)

Within Australia, the bird is still shown as Diomedea cauta, Diomedea cauta cauta, or Thalassarche cauta cauta in some legislation and databases.{{cite web | title=Thalassarche cauta - Shy Albatross | website=Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)|publisher= Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Government | date=28 June 2020 | url=https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=89224 | access-date=28 June 2020}}

The shy albatross averages {{convert|90|to(-)|99|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, {{convert|220|to(-)|256|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan,Dunn, Jon L. & Alderfer, Jonathan (2006) and {{convert|4.1|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight. Alongside its similarly sized sister species, the Salvin's albatross, this species is considered the largest of the mollymawks or the small albatrosses.{{cite web|url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/albatross/about/species/shy.aspx|title=Save the albatross: Shy albatross|work=The RSPB}}Brooke, Michael, Albatrosses and Petrels across the World (Bird Families of the World). Oxford University Press (2004), {{ISBN|978-0-19-850125-1}} It is a black, white and slate-grey bird with the characteristic black thumb mark at the base of the leading edge of the underwing. Adults have a white forehead and a crown, which is bordered on the bottom with a dark eyebrow and pale grey face. Its mantle, tail and upperwing are grey-black, and the rest is white. Its bill is grey-yellow with a prominent yellow culmen and yellow tip.BirdLife International (2008a)

It has a lifespan of about 60 years.

File:Shy albatross in flight.jpg

The shy albatross feeds by a combination surface-seizing and some pursuit diving – it has been recorded diving as deep as {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Fish, cephalopods, crustacea, and tunicates are the sustenance for this species.Hedd, A. & Gales, R. (2001)

The shy albatross breeds on rocky islands and builds mounded nests of soil, grass, and roots. They lay one egg in the second half of September.

Some shy albatross are able to fly {{convert|1,000|km}} in 24 hours.

The shy albatross is endemic breeder to Australia and it breeds on three island colonies off Tasmania, in the southern Indian Ocean:{{cite thesis|url=https://eprints.utas.edu.au/14711/1/front-Alderman-thesis.pdf| title=The Shy Albatross (Thalassarche Cauta): Population Trends, Environmental and Anthropogenic Drivers, and the Future for Management and Conservation|first=Rachael Louise |last=Alderman|date=May 2012|type=PhD|publisher=University of Tasmania| access-date=28 June 2020}} Albatross Island, Pedra Branca, and the Mewstone.{{cite book

|last = Brothers |first = Nigel |title = Tasmania's Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features |publisher = Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery |year = 2001 |isbn = 0-7246-4816-X}}Hedd, A., et al. (2001a)Garnett, S. T. & Crowley, G. M. (2000)BirdLife International (2004)Baker, G. B., et al. (2007) It is the only albatross endemic to Australia.

Juvenile birds are known to fly as far as South Africa; otherwise, non-breeding birds can be found throughout the southern oceans, but specifics are hard to determine due to their similarity to the other species.Double, M. C. , et al. (2003) It is sometimes found off the Pacific coast of the United States.

The IUCN classifies this species as near threatened, with an occurrence range of {{convert|23900000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. The population from an estimate in 2007 was 25,500 breeding birds with 5,100 pairs on Albatross Island, 270 pairs on Pedra Branca, and 7,380 on the Mewstone. Historically, they were exploited for their feathers, and by 1909 there were only 300 pairs left on Albatross Island.Johnstone, G. W., et al. (1975)

Today, longline fishing still impacts this species but their numbers have been maintained despite this threat. They also had an avian pox outbreak on Albatross Island that has impacted their numbers slightly.Woods, R. & Gales, R. (2008) Finally, the Australasian gannet, Morus serrator is the primary threat to their survival.

In June 2020, the Australian Government changed the status of the bird under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 from "Vulnerable" to "Endangered", with the bird facing the main threats from climate change and fisheries (as bycatch victims, either caught in trawling nets, or on hooks in the longline fishing industry), as well as disease and competition with other seabirds. The change in status is not considered to be due to poor management.{{cite web | title='Endangered' status for shy albatross, recognising threats from climate change and fishing | website=ABC News|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|first=y Georgie |last=Burgess | date=27 June 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-28/shy-albatross-gains-endangered-species-listing/12395140 | access-date=28 June 2020}} Listings under state and territory legislation were mostly still "vulnerable" at this time.

The bird can only be monitored on Albatross Island, as the other two islands are inaccessible, but there are thought to be 15,000 pairs of shy albatross left.

{{Reflist|20em}}

• {{cite web | url=http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/species-assessments/doc_download/299-shy-albatross | title=ACAP species assessments, Shy Albatross. | access-date=20 Feb 2008 | author=ACAP | year=2007 | format=pdf | publisher=ACAP | archive-date=1 February 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201202919/http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/species-assessments/doc_download/299-shy-albatross | url-status=dead }}
• Alsop III, Fred J.(2001). Smithsonian Birds of North America. Dorling Kindersley {{ISBN|0-7894-8001-8}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=G. B. |last2=Double |first2=M. C. |last3=Gales |first3=R. |last4=Tuck |first4=G. N. |last5=Abbott |first5=C. L. |last6=Ryan |first6=P. G. |last7=Petersen |first7=S. L. |last8=Robertson |first8=C. J. R. |last9=Alderman |first9=R. |year=2007 |title= A global assessment of the impact of fisheries-related mortality on Shy and White-capped Albatrosses: conservation implications |journal=Biological Conservation |volume= 137 |issue=3 |pages=319–333 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2007.02.012 |bibcode=2007BCons.137..319B }}
• {{cite conference | year =2004 | title =Tracking ocean wanderers the global distribution of albatrosses and petrels | conference =Global Procellariiform Tracking Workshop, 1–5 September 2003, Gordon's Bay, South Africa | publisher =BirdLife International | location =Cambridge, U.K. | url =http://www.seabirdtracking.org/sites/default/files/trackingoceanwanderers_tcm9-200236.pdf | isbn =0-946888-55-8 | access-date =9 November 2015 | archive-date =7 July 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220707080809/http://www.seabirdtracking.org/sites/default/files/trackingoceanwanderers_tcm9-200236.pdf | url-status =dead }}
• {{cite web| url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=38&m=0 | title=Bartlett's Tinamou – BirdLife Species Factsheet | access-date=18 Feb 2009 | author=BirdLife International | year=2008a| work=Data Zone}}
• {{cite web | url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/downloads/BirdLife_Checklist_Version_1.zip | title=The BirdLife checklist of the birds of the world, with conservation status and taxonomic sources. | access-date=18 Feb 2009 | author=BirdLife International | year=2008b | format=xls | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018134628/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/downloads/birdlife_Checklist_Version_1.zip | archive-date=18 October 2019 | url-status=dead }}
• {{cite web| url= http://www.taxonomy.nl/Main/Classification/101907.htm | title=Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification – Diomedea subg. Thalassogeron – | access-date=18 Feb 2009 |last=Brands | first=Sheila | date=Aug 14, 2008 | work=Project: The Taxonomicon }}
• {{cite book |last1=Brooke |first1=M. |title=Albatrosses And Petrels Across The World |year=2004 |publisher= Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK |isbn=0-19-850125-0 |chapter= Procellariidae}}
• {{cite book |last1=Clements |first1=James |author-link= James Clements (ornithologist)|title=The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World |edition=6th |year=2007 |publisher= Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, NY |isbn=978-0-8014-4501-9 }}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last=Double | first = M. C. |editor1-first = Michael | editor1-last = Hutchins | editor2-first = Jerome A. | editor2-last = Jackson | editor3-first = Walter J. | editor3-last = Bock | editor4-first = Donna | editor4-last = Olendorf | others = Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator | encyclopedia = Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia | title = Procellariiformes (Tubenosed Seabirds) | edition = 2nd | year = 2003 | publisher = Gale Group | volume = 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins | location = Farmington Hills, MI | isbn = 0-7876-5784-0 | pages = 107–111}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Double |first1= M. C. |last2=Gales |first2= R. |last3= Reid |first3= T. |last4= Brothers|first4=N. |last5= Abbott |first5=C. L. |year= 2003|title=Morphometric comparison of Australian shy and New Zealand white-capped albatrosses |journal=Emu |volume= 103 |issue= 4 |pages= 287–294|doi = 10.1071/mu03012 |bibcode= 2003EmuAO.103..287D |s2cid= 83621983 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=Jon L. |last2=Alderfer |first2=Jonathon |editor1-first=Barbara |editor1-last=Levitt |title=National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America|edition= fifth|year=2006 |publisher=National Geographic Society |location=Washington D.C. |isbn=978-0-7922-5314-3|page=80 |chapter=Albatrosses }}
• {{cite book|last1=Ehrlich|first1=Paul R.|last2=Dobkin|first2=David, S.|last3=Wheye|first3=Darryl|title=The Birders Handbook|edition=First|year=1988|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-671-65989-8|pages=29–31|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/birdershandbookf00ehrl_0}}
• {{cite book |last1=Garnett|first1=S. T. |last2=Crowley |first2=G. M. |title= The action plan for Australian birds 2000|year=2000 |publisher= Environment Australia|location=Canberra, Australia }}
• {{cite thesis |last1=Hedd |first1=A. |year=1999 |title=Foraging ecology of Shy Albatrosses |url=http://eprints.utas.edu.au/id/eprint/20437 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Hedd |first1=A. |last2=Gales |first2=R. |last3=Brothers |first3=N. |year=2001a |title=Foraging strategies of Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta breeding at Albatross Island, Tasmania, Australia |journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series |volume= 224 |pages=267–282 |doi=10.3354/meps224267|bibcode=2001MEPS..224..267H|url=https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/224/m224p267.pdf |doi-access=free }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Johnstone |first1=G. W.|last2=Dorwood|first2=D. F. |author-link1=Gavin Wildridge Johnstone |year=1975 |title=The White-capped Albatross of Albatross Island: numbers and breeding behaviour |journal=Emu |volume= 75 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi= 10.1071/mu9750001|bibcode=1975EmuAO..75....1J }}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop155.html |title=Proposal #155 to South American Check-list Committee: Split Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta into two or three species |access-date=18 Feb 2009 |last=Remsen Jr. |first=J. V. |date=Dec 2004 |work=South American Classification Committee |publisher=American Ornithologists' Union |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516005431/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop155.html |archive-date=2008-05-16 }}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop166.html |title=PROPOSAL (#166) TO SOUTH AMERICAN CLASSIFICATION COMMITTEE: RE-LUMP THALASSARCHE EREMITA AND THALASSARCHE SALVINI WITH THALASSARCHE CAUTA |access-date=18 Feb 2009 |last=Remsen Jr. |first=J. V. |date=Feb 2005 |work=South American Classification Committee |publisher=American Ornithologists' Union |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508083703/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop166.html |archive-date=2008-05-08 }}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop255.html |title=Proposal (#255) to South American Classification Committee : Follow-up to Proposal 155: Split Thalassarche cauta into three species |access-date=18 Feb 2009 |last=Remsen Jr. |first=J. V. |date=28 Feb 2008 |work=South American Classification Committee |publisher=American Ornithologists' Union |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516013315/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop255.html |archive-date=2008-05-16 }}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html |title=A classification of the bird species of South America : South American Classification Committee American Ornithologists' Union |access-date=18 Feb 2009 |last=Remsen Jr. |first=J. V. |date=28 Feb 2008 |work=South American Classification Committee |publisher=American Ornithologists' Union |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302073659/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html |archive-date=2009-03-02 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Robertson|first1=C. J. R. |last2=Nunn |first2=G. B. |editor1-last=Robertson |editor1-first=G.|editor2-last=Gales|editor2-first=R. |title=Albatross biology and conservation |year=1998 |publisher= Surrey Beatty & Sons|location= Chipping Norton, Australia|pages=13–19 |chapter=Towards a new taxonomy for albatrosses }}
• Woods, R. & Gales, R. (2008), in litt.

{{Wikispecies|Thalassarche cauta}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Thalassarche cauta}}
• Shy Albatross - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/011.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1262700}}

shy albatross

Category:Birds of South Australia

Category:Birds of Tasmania

Category:Birds of Victoria (state)

Category:Birds of Western Australia

Category:Birds of the Indian Ocean

shy albatross

shy albatross