Short-tailed Albatross breeds on US soil
Short-tailed Albatross back from the dead
Although it is far too soon to say danger is over, the Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus has made a remarkable recovery. In 1949 it was believed to be extinct. It was rediscovered in 1951 and in 1954 only 25 pairs were counted on Torishima, Japan. Today there are 426 pairs there, and the good trend continues with the first breeding record from Midway, Hawaii. Here is a report from ABC.
A pair of endangered Short-tailed Albatrosses has successfully hatched a single chick on an island in the Hawaiian archipelago, marking the first time the species has ever been known to breed outside of Japan, American Bird Conservancy reports.
The hatchling broke through its shell on Eastern Island, one of three small, flat coral islands that comprise Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge over 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu. A second nest, located on Kure Atoll, a 213-acre coral island located about 55 miles from Midway, produced two eggs which failed to hatch. That nest was being incubated jointly by two females, and so the eggs were likely not fertilized by a male.
Read the full story from ABC.