Northern Royal Albatross

Diomedea sanfordi Murphy, 1917

8.9 kgWeight

The northern royal albatross or toroa, (Diomedea sanfordi) is a large seabird in the albatross family.

Busiest months: November–December · Most records: New Zealand, Chile, Australia

Endangered

Where and when it's recorded

Northern Royal Albatross has been recorded at 32 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Kaikoura – offshore – Albatross Encounter pelagicNew Zealand3,508 records
Eaglehawk Neck Pelagic TripAustralia941 records
Taiaroa Head – Royal Albatross CentreNew Zealand912 records

More places

Quintero – PelágicoChile534 records
Taiaroa Head/Harbour EntranceNew Zealand455 records
Valparaíso – PelágicoChile416 records
Aramoana Mole/Harbour EntranceNew Zealand302 records
Cook Strait FerryNew Zealand142 records
Poor Knights Shelf AreaNew Zealand124 records
Kaikoura – Point Kean Seal ColonyNew Zealand89 records

Countries and regions with the most records

New Zealand Chile Australia Falkland Islands Antarctica South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands Argentina

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The northern royal albatross or toroa, (Diomedea sanfordi) is a large seabird in the albatross family. It was split from the closely related southern royal albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and some consider both of them to be subspecies of the royal albatross.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Northern Royal Albatross?

The Northern Royal Albatross weighs around 8.9 kg.

Where does the Northern Royal Albatross live?

Its breeding range: Pacific Ocean: Otago Peninsula (southeastern South Island) and Sisters and Forty Fours (Chatham Islands, east of South Island; New Zealand). It is most often recorded in New Zealand, Chile and Australia.