The Magnificent Wandering Albatross
In The Magnificent Wandering Albatross, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows the wandering albatrosses as they nurture their young chicks on an island in the Southern Ocean. This amazing animal has the largest wingspan of any bird alive today! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.
Lesson Express
Q: What is special about the wings of the albatross?
A: The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird living today at 11 feet (or 3 ½ meters) across.
Q: What must the parent birds do to provide food for their young?
A: They must search over the ocean for thousands of kilometers to find food and bring it to them.
Q: At what age is a chick ready to be on its own?
A: They can begin to provide for themselves at about 9 months old.