Diomedea exulans
Silhouette: Alexandre Vong · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The snowy albatross (Diomedea exulans), also known as the wandering albatross, white-winged albatross, or goonie, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae; they have a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It is the largest species of albatross and was long considered to be the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross. Together with the Amsterdam albatross, it forms the wandering albatross species complex, which some began referring to more recently as "snowy".
The snowy albatross is one of the two largest members of the genus Diomedea (the great albatrosses), being similar in size to the southern royal albatross. It has the greatest known wingspan of any living bird and is also one of the most far-ranging birds. Some individual snowy albatrosses are known to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean three times in one year, covering more than 120,000 km (75,000 mi).
The taxonomic history of this species is long and complicated. The species was first described as Diomedea exulans by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, based on a specimen from the Cape of Good Hope. Diomedea refers to Diomedes from Greek mythology whose companions turned to birds, and exulans...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 🇬🇸 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |
| 2 | Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands | 🇦🇶 Antarctica | |
| 3 | Falkland Islands | 🇫🇰 Falkland Islands |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wandering Albatross sighting in Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 28th most-seen of the 29 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wandering Albatross in Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands on a given day, against under 5% in October to February, the lowest months. April to September have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wandering Albatross sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Wandering Albatross sightings, Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wandering Albatross is recorded against all the birds logged in Antarctic Peninsula & South Shetland Islands (22 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
