Thalassarche cauta
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The shy albatross (Thalassarche cauta), also known as the shy mollymawk, is a medium-sized albatross that breeds on three remote islands off the coast of Tasmania, Australia, in the southern Indian Ocean. Its lifespan is about 60 years, and it has been seen as far afield as South Africa and the Pacific coast of the United States. As of June 2020, the species is listed as "Endangered" in Australia; there are thought to be 15,000 pairs of shy albatross left. It is Australia's only endemic albatross.
Some authorities call this species the white-capped albatross, but that name is more commonly applied to Thalassarche cauta steadi. This mollymawk was once considered to be the same species as the Salvin's albatross, Thalassarche salvini, and the Chatham albatross, Thalassarche eremita, but they were split around 2004. In 1998, Robertson and Nunn suggested a four-way split including the white-capped albatross, Thalassarche steadi. The three-way split was accepted by Brooke in 2004, the ACAP in 2006, SACC in 2008, and BirdLife International by 2000. James Clements was the last major holdout on the three-way split but later accepted it. The fourth split, steadi, was only accepted... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 5 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wellington Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Shy Mollymawk sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 203 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 114th most-seen of the 223 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.
May to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Shy Mollymawk in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months. Those are among Table Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shy Mollymawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Shy Mollymawk sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Rakiura National Park (New Zealand, about 40%), Freycinet National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shy Mollymawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Table Mountain National Park (203 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.
