Taiaroa Heads on the Otago Peninsula is home to a sub colony of the Northern Royal Albatross of approximately 100 birds. This colony is the only one close to a major city in the world.

The Northern Royal Albatross’s average life span is approximately 40 years, and they spend 80% of this time at sea. The average length of the body is just over 1 metre. Their wings are very long and skinny with an average span of just over 3 metres. Their wings do not have much muscle, which makes flapping them very difficult. Because of this they spend most of their time gliding on the prevailing wind, altering the angle of their wings for better aerodynamics. They can glide at speeds of up to 115km per hour and use their feet for steering and slowing down.

Breeding
The Northern Royal Albatross breeds biannually as it takes about 13 months to raise a chick. After raising a chick, the adult birds take the next year off and usually fly from Taiaroa Head in an easterly direction 12,000 km to the coast of South America to feeding grounds in the Falkland Current. It takes about 5 – 10 days to get there, although the fastest time recorded is 4 days. Albatross usually mate for life, although there have been some cases of divorce.

Banding of the Royal Albatross
When the chicks are about 8 months old rangers from the Department of Conservation band them. A stainless steel band is placed on their right leg that has a unique identification number, and the address for Te Papa. This is so that if anyone finds a bird they know who to contact. A series of three coloured bands in a unique order goes on the other leg so that the bird can be identified from a distance.