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Albatross

This page lists books that are totally or partially about Albatrosses. The books are listed by publication date with the most recent at the top.


Albatross species

The taxonomy of the Albatross is uncertain. Some authorities recognise 22 species:

Waved Albatross
Phoebastria irrorata

Short-tailed Albatross
Phoebastria albatrus

Black-footed Albatross
Phoebastria nigripes

Laysan Albatross
Phoebastria immutabilis

Wandering Albatross
Diomedea exulans

Antipodean Albatross
Diomedea antipodensis

Amsterdam Albatross
Diomedea amsterdamensis

Tristan Albatross
Diomedea dabbenena

Northern Royal Albatross
Diomedea sanfordi

Southern Royal Albatross
Diomedea epomophora

Sooty Albatross
Phoebetria fusca

Light-mantled Albatross
Phoebetria palpebrata

Black-browed Albatross
Thalassarche melanophrys

Campbell Albatross
Thalassarche impavida

Shy Albatross
Thalassarche cauta

White-capped Albatross
Thalassarche steadi

Chatham Albatross
Thalassarche eremita

Salvin's Albatross
Thalassarche salvini

Grey-headed Albatross
Thalassarche chrysostoma

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
Thalassarche chlororhynchos

Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
Thalassarche carteri

Buller's Albatross
Thalassarche bulleri

 

Multimedia Identification Guide to North Atlantic Seabirds: Albatrosses and Fulmarine Petrels

Bob Flood and Ashley Fisher

Illustrations: John Gale

Scilly Pelagics

2016

270 plus page book with 200 photographs, 180 illustrations and colour range maps. Also 2 DVDs with 120 minutes of at sea, at colony and in-hand footage. Species covered: Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Grey-headed Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Shy Albatross, Tristan Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel, Northern Giant Petrel, Atlantic Fulmar, Pacific Fulmar, and Cape Petrel

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Holy Moli: Albatross and Other Ancestors

Hob Osterlund

Oregon State University Press

2016

"Hob Osterlund moved to Hawai'i after being visited in a dream by an ancestor, Martha Beckwith, author of the monumental classic, Hawaiian Mythology. It was there, on the island of Kaua'i, where she happened upon a few courting albatross and felt an inexplicable attraction to the birds an attraction too powerful to be explained by their beguiling airbrushed eye shadows, enormous wingspans, and rollicking dances. In Hawaiian mythology, ancestors may occupy the physical forms of animals known as 'aumakua. Laysan albatross known as moli are among them. Smitten with these charismatic creatures, Osterlund set out to learn everything she could about moli. She eventually came to embrace them as her 'aumakua not as dusty old myths on a museum bookshelf, but as breathing, breeding, boisterous realities.....Holy Moli is a natural history of the albatross, a moving memoir of grief, and a soaring tribute to ancestors. Within its pages are lyrics of wonder for freedom, for beauty, and for the far-flung feathered creatures known to us as "albatross"

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Albatross

Graham Barwell

Animal series

Reaktion Books

2013

224 pages, 60 colour illustrations, 40 other illustrations

"Albatross looks at the place of these iconic birds in a wide variety of human cultures, from early responses by north Atlantic mariners to modern encounters, examining in detail the role the bird plays in the lives of different peoples and societies. The albatross's remarkable ease in the air and its huge wingspan strikes all those who observe them, and the huge journeys they undertake across the oceans inspires awe. The bird has been celebrated through proverbs, folk stories, art, and ceremony. For many, the bird's cultural significance is still determined by Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. People have engaged with the bird over the last two centuries, from those who sought to exploit them to those who devoted their lives to them. Writers, artists and documentary makers have all focused on the albatross and its place in the human imagination has been demonstrated throughout history. Albatross concludes with a consideration of the bird's changing significance in the modern world, as well as threats to its continued existence and its prospects for the future."

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Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide

Steve N. G. Howell

Princeton University Press

2012

"Petrels, albatrosses, and storm-petrels are among the most beautiful yet least known of all the world's birds, living their lives at sea far from the sight of most people. Largely colored in shades of gray, black, and white, these enigmatic and fast-flying seabirds can be hard to differentiate, particularly from a moving boat. Useful worldwide, not just in North America, this photographic guide is based on unrivaled field experience and combines insightful text and hundreds of full-color images to help you identify these remarkable birds.

The first book of its kind, this guide features an introduction that explains ocean habitats and the latest developments in taxonomy. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features such as flight manner, plumage variation related to age and molt, seasonal occurrence patterns, and migration routes. Species accounts are arranged into groups helpful for field identification, and an overview of unique identification challenges is provided for each group. The guide also includes distribution maps for regularly occurring species as well as a bibliography, glossary, and appendixes."

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Troubled Waters: Trailing the Albatross: An Artist's Journey

Bruce Pearson

Langford Press

2012

"After living and working among an abundance of albatrosses thirty five years ago on a remote island in the Southern Ocean, Bruce Pearson returned recently to see what had happened to some of the birds he had known so well. Troubled Waters offers insights into our understanding of the seabird's lives and the ocean environment, and inspires new engagement and identification with an extraordinarily urgent conservation crisis."

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The Albatross and the Fish: Linked Lives in the Open Seas

Robin W Doughty and Virginia Carmichael

University of Texas Press

2011

"Breeding on remote ocean islands and spending much of its life foraging for food across vast stretches of seemingly empty seas, the albatross remains a legend for most people. And yet, humans are threatening the albatross family to such an extent that it is currently the most threatened bird group in the world. In this extensively researched, highly readable book, Robin W. Doughty and Virginia Carmichael sound an alarm over the potentially catastrophic extinction process that has gone largely unremarked by governments and fishing interests around the globe. Doughty and Carmichael authoritatively establish that the albatross's fate is linked to the fate of two of the highest-value table fish, Bluefin Tuna and Patagonian Toothfish, which are threatened by unregulated commercial harvesting. The authors tell us that commercial fishing techniques are annually killing tens of thousands of albatrosses. And the authors explain how the breeding biology of albatrosses makes them unable to replenish their numbers at the rate they are being depleted. Doughty and Carmichael set the albatross's fate in the larger context of threats facing the ocean commons, ranging from industrial overfishing to our habit of dumping chemicals, solid waste, and plastic trash into the open seas. They also highlight the efforts of dedicated individuals, environmental groups, fishery management bodies, and governments who are working for seabird and fish conservation and demonstrate that these efforts can lead to sustainable solutions for the iconic seabirds and the entire ocean ecosystem."

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Seabird Genius: The Story of L.E. Richdale, the Royal Albatross, and the Yellow-eyed Penguin

Neville Peat

Otago University Press

2011

"The first biography of Lance Richdale, who achieved international fame as the father of Otago's albatross colony from 1936 and for his research on the behaviour of the Yellow-eyed Penguin and the sooty shearwater, or muttonbird. Richdale grew up in Wanganui, took a tertiary course in agriculture in New South Wales, and returned to New Zealand to teach mainly in rural schools in the North Island for several years, eventually taking up a position with the Otago Education Board in 1928 as an inspiring itinerant agricultural instructor and nature study teacher. Richdale never gave up his day job and incredibly in the weekends, holidays and evenings undertook major, meticulous and time-consuming research on penguins, albatrosses and several petrel species. His study of the muttonbird was achieved during prolonged solo camps on tiny Whero Island in stormy Foveaux Strait, where the wind blew straight from Antarctica. Neville Peat's biography searches the traces left by this shy and obsessed man for some answers to two questions: why? and what drove him?."

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Albatross

Tony Martin

Colin Baxter Photography

2009

"The albatross captivates human imaginations in a way that few other birds do. Perhaps its their elegant mastery of the air over vast oceans, for albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any bird on the planet, reaching up to 11 feet. But they are also a cause for concern; 19 out of 22 species are under threat due to conflicts with commercial fishing. Urgent action is required if we are to save them from extinction."

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Albatrosses: Their World, Their Ways

Tui de Roy, Mark Jones and Julian Fitter

Christopher Helm

2008

"Albatrosses are highly threatened and in the public eye; they are the ultimate seabirds, living almost their entire lives at sea. The RSPB currently has a big campaign to help save them. This book is both an authoritative book covering all the world's species and a beautiful work of art to admire. It is illustrated with 300 breathtaking colour photographs from an award-winning photographer. The text comprises a series of essays by leading experts in the field and a systematic section that gives identification, behavioural and distributional information for each of the world's 22 species."

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Albatrosses

Terence Lindsey

Australian Natural History Series

CSIRO

2008

"Albatrosses are largely confined to the region referred to by early mariners as the 'Roaring Forties' and the 'Furious Fifties', otherwise known as the Southern Ocean. The single most distinctive characteristic of the albatrosses is that they ride storms. Aside from a few close relatives among the petrels and shearwaters, they are the only animals (of any kind) that do this. They don't evade storms, or flee them, or grit their figurative teeth and hang on through them, they climb aboard and ride them - effectively throughout their lives. The meterology of the Southern Ocean is so extreme that the region might reasonably be viewed as essentially one enormous, endless storm.One with random patches and periods of relative calm, true - but broadly speaking an eternal torrent of high-velocity air that completely encircles Antarctica. For any non-aquatic animal, this characteristic makes the Southern Ocean nearly as inhospitable as the polar wastes or the most extreme of deserts. To all but the albatross, that is.This work outlines the life histories of these spectacular birds, and explores some of the main strategies and tactics that have evolved to enable them to achieve mastery of one of the most hostile regions on the planet."

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Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World

Derek Onley and Paul Scofield

Princeton Field Guide

Princeton University Press

2007

"This is the first comprehensive field guide to the world's 136 species of albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels. Because many of these birds spend most of their lives far from the coast, traveling from ocean to ocean in a constant search for food, they are poorly known, enigmatic, and often hard to identify in the field. This guide will make field identification much easier. It illustrates every species and shows the distinct plumages of each. It contains 46 high-quality color plates opposite concise descriptions and a color distribution map, with more complete species descriptions following. Species are illustrated on the same page as their confusion species, allowing direct comparisons for more accurate identifications.

This field guide includes information on breeding, feeding, distribution, migration, and conservation. And it illustrates for the first time several extremely rare species, such as Beck's and MacGillivray's Petrels, and the New Zealand Storm-Petrel, which was rediscovered only in 2004."

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Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World

Derek Onley

A Helm Field Guide

Christopher Helm

2006

"The first comprehensive guide to pelagic birds, the albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels and diving petrels. A total of 46 spectacular colour plates highlight key ID criteria of the birds in flight, with close-ups of diagnostic regions of the plumage. The plates are accompanied by accurate distribution maps, while the sparkling text brings the world of these amazing birds to life. Several extremely rare species, such as Beck's Petrel, are illustrated for the first time, while the New Zealand Storm-petrel, rediscovered as recently as 2004, is also included."

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Albatrosses: Elusive Mariners Of The Southern Ocean

Aleks Terauds, Fiona Stewart

New Holland Publishers

2005

"Elusive Mariners of the Southern Ocean tells the life histories of each of the five species of Albatross that breed in Australian waters, describes their breeding islands and outlines the efforts being made to preserve them. The book covers the history of human involvement in Bass Straight and the Southern Ocean the impact it has had on feral animals. Illustrated with the author's beautiful and intimate photographs of the birds, together with historic illustrations from publications such as Gould's The Birds of Australia and others created specifically for this book."

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Albatrosses / Albatros

Enrique Couve & Claudio F. Vidal

Fantastico Sur

2005

"The Albatrosses are long-lived birds, nest in remote oceanic islands and travel across the ocean, thousands of miles from their colonies to the feeding sites. This book is a fantastic photographic introduction to 12 species of these noble winged travelers which wander and breed across the southern seas. Species depicted include the Wandering Albatross, Gibson's Albatross, Antipodean Albatross, Northern Royal Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross, Shy (White-capped) Albatross, Salvin's Albatross, Chatham Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Grey-headed Albatross, Buller's Albatross and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross. Species accounts included are distribution maps, descriptions, and notes on distribution, breeding and diet."

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Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World

Michael de L. Brooke

Colour plates: John Cox

Oxford University Press

2004

518 pages, 32pp colour plates, numerous halftones and maps

"Provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date species-level information available on this family of birds. Introductory general chapters cover the biology, feeding ecology, breeding behaviour, evolutionary relationships, and conservation of the birds in the family. These are followed by accounts of each of the 125 species of albatross and petrel, including weights and measurements, field characters, voice, habitat and food, breeding behaviour, life cycle, and range and status. The book includes 16 colour plates by John Cox showing adults of all species and many juveniles, immatures, and subspecies, plus integrated species distribution maps and black-and-white line figures."

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Seabirds: A Natural History

Tony Gaston

Poyser

2004

"This title takes an in-depth look at the lives of the world's true seabirds - the penguins, tubenoses, peleceaniids, gulls, terns, skuas and auks. These birds all spend much of their lives foraging at sea, but the range of ways that they are adapted to exploit the marine environment and balance this with the need to return to land to breed, is astoundingly diverse. They range from the albatrosses, which take their prey from the surface of the water and are capable of efficient gliding flight for hours on end, to the penguins which have dispensed with flight altogether and have developed a morphology and physiology which enables them to dive deeper and for longer than any other birds. The various problems of being a bird which forages at sea, and the array of solutions evolution has produced to counter them are the theme of this book, which should fascinate everyone with an interest in pelagic birds."

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Eye of the Albatross: Visions of Hope and Survival

Carl Safina

John MacRae Books

2003

"Eye of the Albatross takes us soaring to locales where whales, sea turtles, penguins, and shearwaters flourish in their own quotidian rhythms. Carl Safina's guide and inspiration is an albatross he calls Amelia, whose life and far-flung flights he describes in fascinating detail. Interwoven with recollections of whalers and famous explorers, Eye of the Albatross probes the unmistakable environmental impact of the encounters between man and marine life. Safina's perceptive and authoritative portrait results in a transforming ride to the ends of the Earth for the reader, as well as an eye-opening look at the health of our oceans."

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Albatrosses

W.L.N. Tickell

Pica Press

2000

"This is the first comparative account of the albatrosses based on a comprehensive review of their natural history, oceanography, island geography and recent scientific research. This book thoroughly explores all aspects of albatross biology, distribution and behaviour, as well as such topics as identification and taxonomy. Traditionally, the family has comprised 13 species in two genera, but more recently it has been proposed that 24 species in four genera should be recognised; most species inhabit the southern oceans. The author looks at each taxon, arranging them in various groups for convenience. The authoritative text is accompanied by numerous photographs, diagrams and maps."

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Albatross: Biology and Conservation

Editor: Graham Robertson and Rosemary Gales

Surrey Beatty & Sons

1998

"23 chapters covering systematics and status, population studies, foraging and fisheries relationships, mortality due to fisheries and other factors, perspectives and reviews of albatross research and conservation."

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The World Of Albatrosses

Chris Gaskin & Neville Peat

Photographs: Kim Westerskov

Hodder & Stoughton

1992

"Describes an extraordinary seabird's family, adaptations, prodigious powers of flight, life at sea and on land, and breeding cycle."

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Southern Albatrosses and Petrels: An Identification Guide

P.C. Harper and F.C. Kinsky

Victoria University Press

1978

"A field guide to the albatrosses and petrels likely to be found in the southern oceans from Tropic of Capricorn to Antarctica."

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New Zealand Albatrosses & Petrels: An Identification Guide

Peter C. Harper and F.C. Kinsky

The Biological Society, Victoria University of Wellington

1974

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The Albatross of Midway Island: A Natural History of the Laysan Albatross

Mildred L Fisher

Southern Illinois University Press

1970

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The Wandering Albatross

William Jameson

Doubleday

Revised edition

1961

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The Wandering Albatross

William Jameson

Rupert Hart-Davis

1958

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Catalogue Of The Gaviae And Tubinares In The Collection Of The British Museum

Catalogue Of The Birds In The British Museum, Volume XXV

Gaviae (Terns, Gulls and Skuas): Howard Saunders

Tubinares (Petrels and Albatrosses): Osbert Salvin

8 colour plates: J. Smit

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Sold by: Longman & Co.; B. Quaritch; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.; and at the British Museum (Natural History)

1896

Preface:

"It has been a fortunate circumstance that for the preparation of the present Volume the cooperation of Mr. H. Saunders and Mr. 0. Salvin could be secured, who for many years past have made the Birds of the families of Gulls and Petrels the special subject of their respective studies. As also the collections formed by these gentlemen have been incorporated with the series in the British Museum, the latter possesses of both these groups a collection unrivalled as to its intrinsic value, if not also as to the number of species and specimens. According to the lists given, this Collection consists now of Gaviae 115 and Tubinares 109. Among the Tubinares only, some of the species (15) are not represented in the Collection. Beside the many friends and correspondents who have rendered material assistance in the preparation of this Volume by the loan or gift of specimens, and who "will be enumerated in the introductory remarks of the Authors, I have to refer specially to the authorities of the United States National Museum and to the Hon. W. Rothschild, of whom the former sent important types for comparison, whilst the latter placed the whole of his rich collection at the disposal of Ihe Authors. I have acceded with pleasure to the request of the Director of the Museum to see through the press this and the two remaining Volumes for which the arrangements were made during my term of office. Finally, this would seem to be an appropriate place to pay a tribute to the memory of Henry Seebohm, by whose death, on November 26th, Ornithology has lost a most earnest and ardent student and the British Museum one of its most generous friends and benefactors. For the past fifteen years he took a deep interest in the growth and arrangement of the Collection of Birds in the British Museum, contributing, without stint, either from his own Collection or by special purchase, any specimens that were required to complete the Museum series or to aid in the preparation of the Catalogue. In the latter work he took an active part as the author of the Fifth Volume, which treated of the Warblers and Thrushes. After presenting his immense Collection of Eggs, and incorporating it with that of the Museum, he undertook and completed a Manuscript Catalogue of the whole. By his Will he conferred his last benefit on the Museum, bequeathing to the Trustees the entire Collection which at the time of his death was still in his possession."
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Last updated August 2013