Albatrosses: Amazing Animal Facts

Written by Rita Terry

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Contrary to the widely known expression from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, “an albatross around your neck,” the albatross has nothing to do with bad luck. These beautiful animals are the world’s largest seabirds. Levy enlightens readers about the twenty-two varieties, their distinctive appearance, size and weight, diet, habitat, breeding habits, courtship, enemies, and environmental threats.

Most readers probably know little about these birds. I found it interesting that they live for long periods of time on one island, mate with one partner for life, and do not leave their parents until they master the intricate courtship dance to attract their life partner. The fact that the Wandering Albatross can soar without moving its wings for days at a time is amazing. It is sad that so many of these birds are killed when they dive down deep for fish bait and then drown before they can return to the surface.

This book is targeted for readers ages five to eighteen. Photographs are beautiful; the book will probably be most interesting to readers eight and older, who will be better able to master the text. This book contains a lot of information in less than fifty pages, and is well written with the exception of a typo in the spelling of Antarctica. Young animal lovers or children looking for an interesting research project will find the book a valuable nonfiction resource.

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