Rising Tide Images
Return
A mōlī, or Laysan albatross, effortlessly glides through clear sky over the tropical Pacific to return to land. Albatrosses are built to glide with high aspect ratio wings as displayed in a left banking turn by this beautiful bird. Bones lock joints into position reducing wing extension muscle tension during soaring flight with an energy efficiency that raises metabolism insignificantly above resting rate. Alternately utilizing orographic lift and gravity acceleration, its undulating flight path skims the crests and troughs of ocean waves for thousands of miles while seldom necessitating flapping its six-foot wing span. Laysan albatrosses with established pair bonds are the first of the season to arrive at the breeding colony. After 3 to 5 years at sea, juvenile birds return later in the season in search of establishing a bond with a future mate.
Return
A mōlī, or Laysan albatross, effortlessly glides through clear sky over the tropical Pacific to return to land. Albatrosses are built to glide with high aspect ratio wings as displayed in a left banking turn by this beautiful bird. Bones lock joints into position reducing wing extension muscle tension during soaring flight with an energy efficiency that raises metabolism insignificantly above resting rate. Alternately utilizing orographic lift and gravity acceleration, its undulating flight path skims the crests and troughs of ocean waves for thousands of miles while seldom necessitating flapping its six-foot wing span. Laysan albatrosses with established pair bonds are the first of the season to arrive at the breeding colony. After 3 to 5 years at sea, juvenile birds return later in the season in search of establishing a bond with a future mate.