Campbell Black-browed Albatross

This toroa is an endemic medium-sized albatross that breeds only at Campbell Island and nearby Isle de Jeanette Marie. A black brow around a white head gives it a frowning expression. Adults have an orange-yellow bill, white body, dark upperwings and broad black margins beneath the wings. The honey-coloured iris separates them from black-browed albatrosses, which retain a dark eye.

Breeding colonies occupy Campbell Island coastal cliffs. At sea birds use southern New Zealand shelf waters, occur mainly south of Cook Strait in summer and reach East Cape in autumn and winter. They take small fish, squid and crustaceans, chiefly in water shallower than 200 m. Pairs build a mud-and-grass pedestal and share incubation of one egg.

Campbell black-browed albatross is At Risk — Naturally Uncommon (NZ Threat Classification). Its predator-free breeding site is secure, but altered food supply and occasional longline bycatch remain threats. Pelagic trips from Kaikōura and other southern ports may encounter birds, while Campbell Island expedition voyages pass the only breeding area.