Phoebastria nigripes
Silhouette: Juan Carlos Jerí · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae from the North Pacific. All but 2.5% of the population is found among the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of three species of albatross that range in the Northern Hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands. Unlike many albatrosses, it is dark plumaged.
Black-footed albatrosses are a type of albatross that belong to family Diomedeidae of the order Procellariiformes, along with shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, and diving petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used both against predators and as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage that helps desalinate...
Recording0:11
United States · 2023
© Jasper Barnes · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:07
United States · 2025
Damien Wallace · iNaturalist · CC0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-footed Albatross sighting in Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 44 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-footed Albatross in Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in March to January, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-footed 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.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Black-footed Albatross sightings, Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Olympic National Park (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-footed Albatross is recorded against all the birds logged in Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (23 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.
