Deceased male short-tailed albatross Midway Atoll 12.13.2014 Photo by: Penny Knuckles/USFWS
Refuge Biologist Meg Duhr-Shultz, takes measurements and acquires tissue samples on a deceased male short-tailed albatross found on Midway Atoll's Eastern Island on 12.13.2014. This magnificent bird is a surviving off-spring from one of thousands that once soared the Pacific Ocean before the turn-of-the-century. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hoping that an analysis of this rare bird can tell us more about the cause of death and further our understanding of the species.
Copyright and usage info: This image is a work of a National Science Foundation employee, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.
Minami-Kojima (Senkaku Is., sw of Okinawa), Tori-shima (s Izu Is.), a few on Yome-jima (Ogasawara=Bonin Is.; se of Japan) and Midway Atoll (Northwestern Hawaiian Is.)
On adult, note pink bill and white back. Immature is uniformly brown. The trade in feathers brought this species to the brink of extinction, but today there are an estimated 2,300 individuals.
Africa (entire continent rather than south of Sahara)
AN
Antarctica
AO
Atlantic Ocean
AU
Australasia (Wallacea (Indonesian islands east of Wallace's line), New Guinea and its islands, Australia, New Zealand and its subantarctic islands, the Solomons, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu)
PAL
Eurasia (Europe, Asia from the Middle East through central Asia north of the Himalayas, Siberia and northern China to Japan)
IO
Indian Ocean
LA
Latin America (Middle and South America)
MA
Middle America (Mexico through Panama)
NA
North America (includes the Caribbean)
NO
Northern oceans
OR
Oriental Region (South Asia from Pakistan to Taiwan, plus Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Greater Sundas)