60 Year Old Becomes New Mother as Oldest Wild Bird Hatches Chick

by hearit

A 60-year-old has become a new mother as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist spots a Laysan albatross wild bird -- accompanied by a chick. The albatross, also the oldest known wild bird, was spotted just a few weeks ago with its chick at wildlife refuge "Midway Atoll", located roughly 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu.

The bird and new mother was first tagged by band in a U.S. Geological Survey -- the seabird first banded while incubating an egg in 1956. The Layson albatross was then estimated to be about 5 years old in 1956 and has subsequently worn through five bird bands since then.

Chief of the North American Bird Banding Program Bruce Peterjohn verifies the albatross to be the oldest wild bird documented in a 90-year-old bird banding program run by the U.S. and Canada.