Albatrosses

Most albatrosses range across the Southern Hemisphere from Antarctica to Australia and from South Africa to South America. The ferocious air encircling Antarctica is an impossible place for almost all non-aquatic animals, but not for the albatross.

The most distinctive characteristic of albatrosses is that they ride storms. They do not evade storms, or flee them, but climb aboard and ride them – effectively throughout their lives. Aside from a few close relatives among the petrels and shearw...