Albatross Crossword Puzzle for Kids

Albatrosses are large seabirds which belong to the biological family Diomedeidae. They live in the region of the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean. They are not found in the North Atlantic region, but their fossils have been found there, which shows that they used to live there. There are four main species of albatross: Great Albatrosses, North Pacific Albatrosses, Mollymawks and Sooty Albatrosses. These are divided into twenty-one species identified by the World Conservation Union (ICUN).

Great Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds. They are very big. All albatrosses are very good at flying, spending much of their life in the air. They eat squid, fish and krill. Albatrosses come ashore to make their nests, mostly on islands, and usually near the nests of other birds.

Nineteen of the twenty-one species of albatross are endangered. This is partly because animals such as rats and cats attack their eggs, chicks, and sometimes adult birds as well. Pollution of the oceans, such as plastic waste and oils spills, also kills albatrosses. Sometimes there may be not enough fish to eat because of over-fishing. The main reason why albatross are endangered is longline fishing which causes many albatross to get caught on hooks that have been baited to catch fish. This causes the birds to drown.

Biology

Albatrosses are very large. The bill is large, strong and sharp. This bill is made of horny plates. Along the sides are the two "tubes". They are actually long nostrils. The tubes of all albatrosses are on the sides of the bill. They help the albatrosses develop their sense of smell a lot. The feet have no last toe and the three other toes are all webbed. Their legs are quite strong, and they can walk well on land, unlike other sea birds.

Albatrosses need to take salt out of their body because they drink ocean water. All birds have a large gland at the top part of their bill, above their eyes. This gland is sometimes useless to birds that do not need it. However, albatrosses use them to help take out saltwater. Scientists are not sure how it works exactly. However, they know that it helps take out the salt. It makes a liquid that makes the saltwater drip out of their nose.

The adult albatrosses usually have a dark upper-wing and back, and white undersides when they are getting ready to take flight. Albatrosses take several years to get their full adult feathers.

The wings of the largest albatrosses (genus Diomedea) can be up to 340 cm.

Albatrosses flying north from their family sometimes fly in a clockwise direction, and those flying south will fly the opposite. The most energy used up in their journey is not when they travel a long way, but when they land, take-off, and hunt. This helps the albatross fly more longer distances and find good food. They can fly easily over wind and waves. However, because their long wings do not have strong muscles or energy, they cannot flap while they fly. Because of this, albatrosses in calm seas must stop and rest on the surface of the ocean until the wind begins to blow harder. When taking-off, albatrosses need to run first to help the wing make lift. Albatrosses are known for their clumsiness when landing.

Albatrosses and humans

The name albatross came from the Arabic word al-câdous or al-ġaţţās. This means a pelican, or can mean "the diver". This word later became English, also mixed with the Portuguese word alcatraz, which means "gannet". This is also where the name of the prison Alcatraz comes from. The OED explains that the word alcatraz was at first supposed to be used for the frigatebird. But perhaps the change of the word to albatross was because of the Latin word albus. This means "white", which is opposite to the frigatebirds which are black. In Portuguese, the word still presently used for the bird, albatroz, came from the English albatross.

They were once known as Goonie birds or Gooney birds, especially the albatrosses in the North Pacific. In the southern hemisphere, most people still call the albatross mollymawk, which came from the word malle-mugge, an old Dutch. The name Diomedea, given to the albatrosses by Linnaeus, is from the story about the Greek warrior Diomedes becoming a bird.

Albatrosses have been described as "the most legendary of all birds". When people are sad or feel they are carrying a burden, they may use the expression 'to have an albatross around their neck'. There is a myth that sailors do not shoot or eat albatrosses because they think it will bring bad luck, but in reality sailors regularly killed and ate them. They were often thought of as the souls of lost sailors. The Māori people used the wing bones of the albatross to carve tattoos into their skin at ceremonies.

Even though they were legendary birds in many myths, albatrosses were still attacked by humans. In the beginning, Polynesians and Aleut people hunted albatrosses. As Europeans began to explore the world, they too began to hunt albatross. They "fished" for them from boats and ate them or killed them for sport.

Of the 21 albatross species noted by the IUCN on their list, 19 are threatened, and the other two are very near to being threatened. Two species are thought of as endangered. This is mostly because albatrosses die while eating fishing bait.

Other websites

HANZAB complete species list (Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.)

The Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP)

Tracking Ocean Wanderers The global distribution of albatrosses and petrels: Results from the Global Procellariiform Tracking Workshop, 1–5 September 2003, Gordon’s Bay, South Africa. BirdLife International

Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Albatross” (revision 10900633, 2026-06-25), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.