Four-Month-Old Laysan Albatross

A large watermelon sized chick with a downy head, white feathered chest and gray feathered wings opens its mouth up for a yawn. It looks awkward and adorable.
Photo By/Credit
Laurel Smith/USFWS
Date Shot/Created
05/23/2023
Media Usage Rights/License
Public Domain
Image
A four-month-old mōlī or Laysan albatross chick yawns. The chick hatched from a nest with two female parents. If female-female pairs successfully incubate an egg to hatch, studies show that they are just as successful as their male-female counterparts at raising their chicks to fledge.
Facility
Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
Ecosystem
Coastal
Species
Diomedea immutabilis
Subject tags
Seabirds