The world’s oldest known wild bird, a Laysan albatross named Wisdom, has hatched a new chick at the age of 74.
The chick arrived on January 30, 2025, at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean. This is Wisdom’s first chick since 2021 and an extraordinary event, as albatrosses typically live between 12 and 40 years.
Wisdom was first tagged in Hawaii in 1956 when she was estimated to be five years old. Since then, she has laid around 50 to 60 eggs, with about 30 chicks successfully growing and flying away. Each year, Wisdom returns to the same nesting site in the Hawaiian Archipelago to reunite with her mate and, if possible, lay an egg. Like other Laysan albatrosses, she and her mate take turns caring for their chick. After Wisdom returned to the nest, her partner left to search for food, such as squid, fish, and crustaceans.
Laysan albatrosses are large seabirds commonly found on Pacific islands. They have white heads, dark markings on their faces, orange beaks, and long, pointed wings. They are excellent gliders, traveling long distances over the ocean with minimal wing movement. However, they face threats from plastic pollution, sometimes mistaking plastic for food.
