Black-browed albatross  (Thalassarche melanophrys)

The black-browed albatross is a bird of the southern oceans, and breeds on various islands throughout this extensive region. The principal islands are: the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic; the Indian Ocean islands of Crozet, Kerguelen and the Heard and McDonald Islands; the Southern Pacific islands of Islas Diego Ramirez, Ildefonso, Diego de Almagro and Isla Evangelistas off the coast of Chile; Macquarie Island (administered by Australia), and Campbell, Antipodes and Snares islands south of New Zealand (5). Black-brows also occur as a vagrant in the North Atlantic and individual birds have spent summer months on gannet colonies in Scottish waters (2).

For much of the year, black-browed albatrosses are pelagic, spending months on end at sea (2). To breed, they choose islands having steeply sloping coasts with tussock grass, although they will nest on cliffs and on level shores (5).