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Not many birds are as famous as Wisdom, a female Laysan Albatross who routinely nests at Midway Atoll.
She has a well earned fame from not only being the oldest banded bird in the world, but also the oldest confirmed wild bird in the world, all the while still hatching out young as late as 2020.
Before we get too much into Wisdom’s history, let’s go over a bit on her species, the Laysan Albatross.
The Laysan Albatross is a very large seabird, with long thin pointed wings. Adults are primarily white, with a dark brown back as well as the top of their wings, a short black tail and dark patches around their eyes. Their pale bill is also hooked. This amazing bird has a wingspan of up to 80 inches, or 6.6 feet or 203 centimeters.
Like all albatrosses, they are at home in the open oceans, this species can be found roaming the Pacific Ocean, only going to land to nest. And this lifestyle really reflects in their anatomy and their grace. Their long thin wings make it almost effortless for them to ride the wind giving them a look of effortless grace as they glide through the air. They can even travel hundreds of miles with barely a beat of their long wings. Their flying style, one that is shared by many other ocean birds is called dynamic soaring, this style is characterized by gliding low over waves and then wheeling upward with the waves, a flight style that takes advantage of wind currents pushed up by the waves.
As would be expected from a bird living out at sea, their diet consists primarily of squid and other small prey such as fish eggs, floating carrion, and crustaceans. They catch their prey primarily at night while sitting on the water and then plunge their beaks below the water to catch prey that is slightly below the water’s surface.
So with that little species wrap up, back to Wisdom.
It is estimated that Wisdom hatched in 1951. In December of that year, a single egg would be laid in an Albatrosses version of a nest. This nest would have been about 3 feet wide and a few inches deep. It would have been constructed by the female, Wisdoms mother, with her weeded feet into a circular depression that is edged with various leaves and twigs. This egg would be the only one laid in the clutch, and the only one laid that year for that Albatross pair. This single egg, would be creamy white with brown spots, measuring about 4.3 inches by 2.7 inches long. After this egg was incubated for 62-66 days, this egg would hatch. Hatch into the most famous Laysan Albatross in the world and become an icon for her species.
Wisdom would have grown up and fledged at Midway Atoll. From the egg, she would hatch into a large downy brown chick that kinda reminds me of the frosted hair tips like that were in fashion during the late 90’s and early 2000. Wisdom would have continued to grow, being fed by both parents, each taking long trips out to sea to collect food to bring back to their growing chick. This would continue for about 165 days before Wisdom would fledge and leave for ocean life. Once she leaves the island that she grew up on, she would have spent five to nine years out to sea before she became sexually mature and returned to the island on which she hatched to nest herself.
So in 1956, Wisdom once again returned to Midway Atoll, she was then banded by Chandler Robbins, who was a senior scientist at the USGS and she was given a band with the combo of Z333 by the United States Geological Survey. It was estimated at that time, that she had probably hatched around 1951, making her approximately 5 years old at the time, which is the earliest age that Laysan Albatrosses reach sexual maturity.
This band would allow scientists to monitor her, and other banded birds individually, helping them tell birds apart from another all the while getting a glimpse into a bird’s behaviors, interactions and survivorship. This band would also allow scientists to monitor what birds return year after year to nest on the island.
And thanks to this band, they could document Wisdoms return to the island year after year.
Thousands of albatrosses on Midway were banded for a study to help reduce impacts between wildlife and aircraft. Not much seems to have been documented in her early years though because of the number of pairs nesting on the island, her significance wasn’t discovered until much later. Nearly 46 years later, Robbins returned to replace the band on many birds, saltwater is harsh on the aluminum in the bands, often leading to corrosion and eventually the bands falling off. When the bird with the band combo of Z333 was recaptured, and their band info was checked, they were shocked to see the time that had passed since that bird was banded and her apparent age.
Since then, Wisdom had been recaptured many times. Eventually is 2006, she was rebanded again, this time receiving a red band to make her easier to distinguish from other Laysan Albatrosses and she was formally given her name, the one she is more recognized by today, of Wisdom. She has been rebanded six times so far in her life.
Every November, Wisdom would again return to her colony, along with many other Laysan Albatrosses.
Once her and her mate returns, they would perform coordinated movements, consisting of bill touching, spreading one or both wings, bobbing their head and placing their bill under one wing, pause, and then point their bills to the sky. This courtship help solidify their bond to each other.
Since 2006, Wisdom and her mate Akeakamai, which translates to “love of Wisdom”, have returned to the same nest year after year.
Albatrosses will lay only one egg a year, and it is estimated that Wisdom has laid around 50 eggs during her lifetime, and hatched at least 30 to 36 chicks. She has also successfully hatched a chick every year since 2006.
In 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit Midway Atoll, this distaste ended up killing around 2,000 adult Laysan Albatross and Black-footed Albatross and about 110,000 chicks, luckily both Wisdom, Akeakamai and their chick survived.
Something amazing came out of this year though, Wisoms chick that survived this disaster, who had a band code of N333, ended up having a chick of its own in 2022, making Wisdom a grandma.
Because of the number of nesting albatrosses on Midway Atoll, it can be rather difficult to document and track lineages. In 2011, Wisdom could have been nesting for over 50 years, it’s curios to think of how many birds out there are her descendants, she could even be a great-great Grandma. With her age, she could very well be a huge contributor to the rebound of Laysan Albatrosses numbers.
On December 3, 2014, Wisdom was put in the spotlight again when at age 63, she laid another egg on Midway Atoll. At 70 years old in February of 2021, Wisdom successfully hatched another chick, making headlines again.
Once again Wisdom returned to Midway Atoll on November 26, 2021, though her mate Akeakamai, unfortunately did not return. Because of this loss, Wisdom did not nest or raise a chick during that year.
Wisdom once again returned to Midway Atoll in December of 2022 and December 2023, through unfortunately Akeakamai was still not seen. With this last sighting, that means that her estimated age is now 73 years old. That is even more impressive when you consider that she is already over 20 years older than the average lifespan of a Laysan Albatross.
Starting in Late November of 2023, with her long-term mate having disappeared for the last two nesting seasons, Wisdom has been seen courting possible new mates. This behavior has been witnessed up until May of 2024.
Over the years, this bird has been covered in many publications and news sources across the world including, National Geographic, Discovery News, 60 Minutes and in an episode of BBC Two’s Earth’s Tropical Islands. And it’s no surprise as she has truly earned her fame, not only with being the oldest documented wild bird, oldest banded bird but also at the same time still raising chicks. While her long-term mate disappeared, and because of that hasn’t nested in the last few seasons, there is still hope for future chicks with her seen courting several possible new mates. Wisdom is truly an incredible bird, estimated to have traveled over 3,000,000 miles in her lifetime, about 50 eggs and the possibility of over 30 chicks with an unknown number of possible grand-chicks.
It will be interesting to see how Wisdom’s legacy progresses over the next few years, if she will get a new mate and if she continues to successfully hatch new chicks.
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