506K views · 10K reactions | The Northern Royal Albatross chick has...

Ever wondered how an albatross chick keeps itself occupied during the long winter months it spends waiting on the nest? According to Dr Eric Woehler from Birdlife Australia it collects and sorts vegetation and mud to build its nest. "The chick essentially has a lot of its behaviour pre-learned and hardwired into the brain," he says. "These are behaviours that it needs to refine while it's a chick, while it's sitting in the nest, so that when it first attempts breeding as a six or seven-year old

87K views · 2.5K reactions | Did you know an albatross can soar for several hundred kilometres without flapping its wings? This legendary bird has inspired the #AlbatrossOne – our remote-controlled aircraft demonstrator that is the first aircraft to trial in-flight, freely flapping wing-tips, which could help reduce drag and fuel burn. fly.airbus.com/IntroducingAlbatrossOne | Airbus | Facebook

Albatrosses — particularly the majestic wandering albatross — are among nature’s most extraordinary fliers, capable of gliding thousands of kilometers across the open ocean without flapping their wings for hours. Their secret lies in a technique called dynamic soaring, which allows them to harness shifting wind currents just above the ocean’s surface. By skillfully looping through layers of air moving at different speeds, they gain lift with minimal energy use — a remarkable adaptation for life