Diomedea sanfordi
Silhouette: Kimberly Haddrell · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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.
Diomedea sanfordi breaks into Diomedea, referring to Diomedes, whose companions turned to birds, and sanfordi, in honor of Leonard Cutler Sanford (1868–1950), ornithologist, and trustee of the American Museum of Natural History.
Albatrosses belong to the 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 are stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy-rich food source for... Wikipedia →
Song0:08
New Zealand · 2024
© Oscar Thomas · XC1078628 · CC BY-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Royal Albatross sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 220th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Royal Albatross in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Royal 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 2 parks where we can rate Northern Royal Albatross sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Fiordland National Park (New Zealand, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Royal Albatross is recorded against all the birds logged in Table Mountain National Park (6 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.
