• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Brooke, M. de L. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Robertson, C. J. R.; Nunn, G. B. 1998. Towards a new taxonomy for albatrosses. In: Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (ed.), Albatross biology and conservation, pp. 13-19. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A4bc; B2ab(iii,v)	A4bc; B2ab(iii,v); D2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Endangered	A4bc; B2ab(iii,v)
2016	Endangered	A4bc; B2ab(iii,v)
2013	Endangered	A4bc;B2ab(iii,v)
2012	Endangered	A4bc;B2ab(iii,v)
2010	Endangered	A4b,c; B2a+b(iii,v)
2008	Endangered	A4b,c,d; B2a+b(iii,v)
2007	Endangered
2005	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2003	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	115,000,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	56,500,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	8 km2	medium
Number of locations	3-5	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	17000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	1991
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	1985-2069
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Generation length	27 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	3	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	95-99%	-	-	-

Population justification:

The largest population (99%) is on the Chatham Islands, with 1% of the population on Taiaroa Head, on the mainland of South Island, New Zealand. There has not been a successful run of annual photographs over the past 8 years to enable updated estimates of the breeding population of this biennial breeder (C. J. R. Robertson in litt. 2008). However, air photographic counts on the Chatham Islands in the 1970s (1972-1975) and 1990s (1989-1991) recorded a total of 6,500-7,000 total breeding pairs. The number of pairs breeding each year was estimated as 5,200 pairs, based on a count in 1995. This is equivalent to a total population of 17,000 mature individuals. A count in 2002 recorded 5,800 pairs on the Chatham Islands (counted at the end of egg laying), with a probable 1,700 pairs on sabbatical after breeding in the previous season (C. J. R. Robertson in litt. 2008). However, since the estimate of 17,000 mature individuals is based on data from multiple years, this is the estimate used here. It roughly equates to 25,000-26,000 individuals in total. Around 35 pairs breed each year at Taiaroa Head, including five hybrids (descended from cross with female Southern Royal Albatross D. epomophora). Two individuals of D. sanfordi, both breeding with D. epomophora partners, have been recorded on Enderby Island.

Trend justification: Low annual productivity produces a projected population decline in this species. More recent data, from 1995 and 2003, point to a possible recent increase in population, but methods are not sufficiently comparable for any meaningful interpretation regarding population trends, and a very rapid ongoing population decline is precautionarily retained here.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Antarctica	extant	uncertain
Argentina	extant	native			yes	yes
Australia	extant	native			yes	yes
Bouvet Island (to Norway)	extant	uncertain
Brazil	extant	native			yes	yes
Chile	extant	native			yes	yes
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	extant	native			yes	yes
French Southern Territories	extant	native			yes	yes
Heard Island and McDonald Islands (to Australia)	extant	native			yes
New Zealand	extant	native		yes
South Africa	extant	native			yes	yes
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands	extant	native			yes	yes
St Helena (to UK)	extant	native			yes
Uruguay	extant	native			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Argentina	Talud Agujero Azul
Argentina	Talud Patagonia Norte
New Zealand	Canterbury (offshore)
New Zealand	Chatham (offshore)
New Zealand	Chatham Islands (nearshore)
New Zealand	Cook Strait
New Zealand	Dunedin Coast (offshore)
New Zealand	East Coast South Island (offshore)
New Zealand	Fiordland - West Coast South Island (South) (offshore)
New Zealand	Forty Fours Motuhara
New Zealand	Rakiura (offshore)
New Zealand	Southern South Island (offshore)
New Zealand	Taiaroa Head

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subantarctic	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Lucilia sericata	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mustela erminea	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea sanfordi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/northern-royal-albatross-diomedea-sanfordi on 21/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 21/12/2024.