Like most seabirds, male and female royal albatrosses take turns incubating their egg and foraging for food. If the egg is left uncovered for a moment, skuas are likely to make a meal of it. In this photograph, the female (left) has just resumed incubation duties after a period at sea, while the male looks towards the ridge from where he, in turn, will take off for a foraging trip of five to fifteen days. This species travels up to 1,300 kilometres from the nest in search of food.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Private collection
by Christina Troup
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