Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
Brooke, M. de L. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. 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.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | A4bd | A4bd |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Endangered | A4bd |
| 2016 | Endangered | A4bd |
| 2013 | Endangered | A4bd |
| 2012 | Vulnerable | A4bd |
| 2010 | Vulnerable | A4b,d |
| 2008 | Vulnerable | A4b,d |
| 2007 | Vulnerable | |
| 2005 | Vulnerable | |
| 2004 | Vulnerable | |
| 2003 | Vulnerable | |
| 2000 | Vulnerable | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Near Threatened | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type |
shelf island |
Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 107,000,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 78,600,000 km2 | medium |
| Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident) | 1,800 km2 | medium |
| Number of locations | 11-100 | - |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 250000 mature individuals | medium | estimated | 2012 |
| Population trend | decreasing | medium | estimated | 1940-2030 |
| Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 50-79% | - | - | - |
| Generation length | 30 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: There are an estimated c.98,601 pairs breeding per year of this biennially breeding species, based on annual breeding population estimates of 47,674 pairs on South Georgia in 2004 (Poncet et al. 2006), 18,063 pairs in Chile in 2015 (Robertson et al. 2007, 2008, 2016), 7,900 pairs on Kerguelen in 1987 (Weimerskirch et al. 1988), 8,611 pairs on Campbell Island (Sagar 2014), 8,541 pairs on Marion Island in 2016 (ACAP unpubl. data), 5,940 on Crozet in 1982 (Jouventin et al. 1984), 1,506 pairs on Prince Edward Island in 2009 (Ryan et al. 2009) and 100 pairs on Macquarie Island in 2016 (ACAP unpubl. data). This is thought to be equivalent to at least 250,000 mature individuals (Croxall and Gales 1998, Brooke 2004).
Trend justification: At South Georgia, the population is estimated to have declined by 25% between 1977 and 2004 (Poncet et al. 2006, R. Phillips pers. comm. 2012) , and by 43% between 2004 and 2015 (Poncet et al. 2017), which equates to a projected decline of 85% or even higher if declines continued at this rate over three generations. On Campbell Island, data from 2004 suggest that the population declined by over 75% between 1940 – 2004 (Nel et al. 2002, Moore 2004), which would equate to a 95% decline over three generations. However, recent unpublished information suggests that this population underwent a major decline until 1997 but has since stabilised (W. Misiak in litt. 2013). Population trends are unknown for Chile, Iles Kerguelen and Iles Crozet (representing around one third of the global population). Also, in contrast to South Georgia and Campbell Island, the population on Marion Island has reported a 1.2% annual population increase from 1988-2011 (ACAP 2012). Combining these data, even if the Chilean, Iles Kerguelen and Iles Crozet colonies are assumed to be stable, the data from South Georgia and Campbell Island result in a projected global population decline of 65.4% over three generations. Given the uncertainty around these estimates, particularly the likely future trends, and the long trend period, a decline of 50-79% over 90 years is provisionally estimated.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Antarctica | extant | native | yes | |||
| Argentina | extant | native | yes | |||
| Australia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bouvet Island (to Norway) | extant | uncertain | ||||
| Brazil | extant | native | yes | |||
| Chile | extant | native | yes | |||
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | extant | native | yes | |||
| French Southern Territories | extant | native | yes | |||
| Heard Island and McDonald Islands (to Australia) | extant | native | yes | |||
| High Seas | extant | native | yes | |||
| Namibia | extant | native | yes | |||
| New Zealand | extant | native | yes | |||
| Panama | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Peru | extant | uncertain | ||||
| South Africa | extant | native | yes | |||
| South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Helena (to UK) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Uruguay | extant | native | yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grassland | Subantarctic | major | breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | 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%) | Rapid Declines | Medium Impact: 7 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Climate change & severe weather | Temperature extremes | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Whole (>90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 7 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mus musculus | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/grey-headed-albatross-thalassarche-chrysostoma on 25/11/2024.
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 25/11/2024.