Southern Royal Albatross
Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Albatrosses

Southern Royal Albatross

Diomedea epomophora

VUVulnerable
Family
Albatrosses (Diomedeidae)
Order
Procellariiformes

Overview

The southern royal albatross or toroa (Diomedea epomophora) is a large seabird in the albatross family. With an average wingspan of more than 3 m (9.8 ft), it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent studies indicate that the southern royal albatross may, on average, be somewhat larger than the wandering albatross in mass and have a similar wingspan, although other sources indicate roughly similar size for the two species and the wandering species may have a larger average (and maximum) wingspan in some colonies.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to see it

Destination guides featuring this bird

Range and habitat

Breeds Enderby Island (Auckland Islands) and Campbell Islands (New Zealand); ranges all south temperate and subantarctic oceans.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.