Template:POTD/2021-12-01
The northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) is a large seabird in the albatross family, Diomedeidae. It nests only on the Chatham Islands, on Enderby Island, and at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula of New Zealand. It spends the rest of the year away from land, in circumpolar flights over the Southern Ocean, feeding on squid, fish, crustaceans, salps and carrion. The species is listed on the IUCN Red List as endangered, but predators have been eliminated from the islands where it breeds, and conservation efforts have proved successful at the Taiaroa Head colony. This northern royal albatross was photographed off the southeastern coast of Tasmania, Australia.Photograph credit: John Harrison
 | This picture of the day has been featured on Portal:Birds. |