Chatham Island Albatross

Chatham Island toroa is an endemic albatross whose entire breeding population occupies The Pyramid south of Pitt Island. Adults combine a dark-grey hood with a heavy bright-yellow bill. The dark head has white behind the eye and a black line running forward to a yellow bill with a black lower tip. Salvin’s albatross has a paler grey head and greyer bill; Buller’s is smaller and finer-billed.

All regular breeding occurs on the 1.7-hectare Pyramid in the Chatham Islands. Birds feed around the Chathams in the breeding season and migrate to seas off Chile and Peru afterward. Pairs build pedestal nests from soil, guano and vegetation, lay one egg and share the 68–72-day incubation. At sea they take fish, squid and other surface prey.

Chatham Island albatross is At Risk — Naturally Uncommon (NZ Threat Classification). A single breeding site leaves it exposed to severe storms, and longline bycatch occurs around New Zealand and South America. The best chance is at sea around southern Chatham Island and The Pyramid; the colony itself is isolated and inaccessible.