The light-mantled albatross also known as the grey-mantled albatross or the light-mantled sooty albatross, is a small albatross in the genus Phoebetria, which it shares with the sooty albatross. The light-mantled albatross was first described as Phoebetria palpebrata by Johann Reinhold Forster, in 1785, based on a specimen from south of the Cape of Good Hope.
Light-mantled albatross
Light-mantled albatross sitting on nest
Light-mantled albatross, head detail
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes. They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there and occasional vagrants are found. Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and species of the genus Diomedea have the longest wingspans of any extant birds, reaching up to 3.7 m (12 ft). The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but disagreement exists over the number of species.
Albatross
Skeleton of a black-browed albatross on display at the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
A southern royal albatross: Note the large, hooked beak and nasal tubes.
Taking off is the most energetically demanding part of an albatross's journey, requiring the use of flapping flight to provide thrust as well as lift.