Albatross
An albatross is the grandest living flying machine on Earth. An albatross is bone, feathers, muscle, and the wind. An albatross is an art deco bird, striking of pattern, clean of line, epic in travels, heroically faithful. A parent albatross may fly more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) to deliver one meal to its chick. Wielding the longest wings in nature—up to eleven and a half feet (3.5 meters)—albatrosses can glide hundreds of miles without flapping, crossing ocean basins, circumnavigating the globe. A 50-year-old albatross has flown, at least, 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers). The places of albatrosses are beyond the inhabited limits of humanity, on spare, elemental islands that feel like the center of a water bound planet. Yet humans touch them in all their haunts. As a result, almost all albatross populations have declined significantly in recent decades. When its season for courtship many of the birds return to the land for the first time may be after four or five years at sea. A bird’s choice of mate largely determines whether its chick survives. Raising a chick requires both parents, so courtship often spans two years. Those in advanced courtship sit long intervals in close contact, tenderly preening each other’s heads and necks. This reinforces reliability and mutual care. Thus they begin a lifelong bond that will keep the wheel of life in motion. While flying one can hardly see any flapping of wings. Wind powers this mass-transit system. Many hurtle downwind; those going upwind weave into the air currents, catching the crosswind and sailing upward with their bellies windward, then turning downward into the breeze. Masterfully playing these two great forces of wind and gravity, they make near-effortless progress.
