Salvin's Albatross

How to find it

Realistically, nobody finds this bird on purpose. The one Costa Rican record came from a sport fishing outing, when the captain and two companions photographed and filmed the bird from their boat. Records of albatrosses in Costa Rican waters come mostly from fishers and tour boat operators who took photos or video. If you head offshore, watch the birds that gather around fishing boats, as the 2022 bird was seen in the evening among boats and other seabirds. Keep a camera ready, because photos are what allow a record to be checked.

How to recognise it

The photos from Costa Rica showed three clear marks: a long yellow bill, a brown body, and a white neck and head.

For the species in general, adults have a pale grey head with a white forehead and mostly white underwings with a thin black edge. The bill is dull olive-grey with a dark tip on the lower mandible.

Some young Shy-type albatrosses look similar, so check the darker bases of the underwing primaries. Good photos of bill, head and underwings are what let experts compare a bird with field guides, which is how the Costa Rican record was checked.

Behaviour and diet

The 2022 bird was seen in the evening around fishing boats and other seabirds. That fits what is known of the species more widely: it eats mostly fish and squid, and it also takes krill, salps and offal from fishing vessels. It probably grabs most prey from the surface by day, and it sometimes plunges or dives shallowly. It may also join large mixed flocks feeding on small fish that bigger predators push to the surface.

Where it lives

Salvin's Albatross is a bird of the open ocean. Range-wide, it breeds on islands off New Zealand, mainly the Bounty Islands. Outside breeding it ranges over temperate and subtropical seas, including the west coast of South America.

In Costa Rica the only record is from the Pacific, over the Middle America Trench in the Los Craters area south of Cabuya. Albatross records here come from offshore waters within the country's marine economic zone, which is about nine times larger than its land area.

Similar birds

Costa Rica has three albatross records. Two are in the Pacific: Waved Albatross and Salvin's. One is in the Caribbean: Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross. Range-wide, Salvin's is bigger than the Chatham Albatross and has a grey bill, and it has a greyer head than the Shy Albatross.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican Spanish name is Albatros de Salvin. Elsewhere in Latin America it is also called Albatros de frente blanca, and Chile also uses the nickname pájaro carnero.

Status and conservation

The Costa Rican bird list ranks Salvin's Albatross as category A, accidental, and before this record it held only two albatross species, Waved and Atlantic Yellow-nosed.

Photography tips

Photos and video from boats are how every Costa Rican albatross record has come to light. Capture the bill, the head and the underwings, since experts checked the records against field guides.