Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross

How to find it

An albatross sighting would most likely come from a boat trip at sea, not from land. Most Costa Rican seabird records come from the coasts and from Isla del Coco National Park, so those are the waters to think about. The one documented record was over the Caribbean shelf, in an area with fishing activity, so waters where boats work are worth watching. Note the bill and the head carefully on any albatross you see. Treat a sighting as a bonus, never a target.

How to recognise it

Start with the bill. It is long, slim and black, with a bright yellow stripe along the top. The yellow stops short of the bill base, and the tip turns pinkish orange.

It is small for an albatross, which matters when you compare it with other large seabirds.

Young birds look different. They show a gray neck and a gray patch in front of the eye. Their bill is a duller black, with a paler area on top that later becomes the adult's yellow stripe.

The bird added to the Costa Rica list was a young one, so the gray head and neck and the duller bill are the marks to keep in mind on any albatross seen from a boat.

Behaviour and diet

It eats squid, fish and crustaceans. It often follows fishing boats for offal, takes prey from the surface and sometimes dives. It has even been recorded feeding at night.

It is an oceanic bird, but it comes closer to continental shelves and coasts than most albatrosses do. That habit may help explain how a bird from the South Atlantic ended up over the Caribbean shelf.

Where it lives

Away from its breeding islands, this albatross lives at sea. In Costa Rica the one documented record is from the Caribbean side, over the shelf off Limón. The species is also listed for Costa Rica including Cocos Island, as rare or accidental.

Costa Rican seabirds are poorly studied, and most records come from the coasts and from Isla del Coco National Park. Here it is a bird of open water, not of forest, lowland or mountain.

Similar birds

Birders separate the Atlantic bird from the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross by its darker gray hood. Its underwing pattern and bill colour fall between those of Black-browed and White-capped Albatross, and adults show a soft gray hood with a white crown. Other mollymawks differ by their smaller size, narrow wings and thin black edge on the underwing.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The official Costa Rican Spanish name is Albatros Pico Fino. Albatros Pico Fino del Atlántico is also listed as a Costa Rican Spanish name.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican list marks it as category A, accidental, and it carries an Endangered global conservation rating.