Talk:Albatross
From Academic Kids
Taxonomy is a nightmare at the moment with the AOU moving faster than the rest of the World towards a major revision. Until a consensus reforms, I think that all we can do is try to reflect the main strands of thought.
On the other hand, the BOU has been very quickly out of the blocks in terms of splitting the albatross group, and moving the Galloanseriformes to the start of the Neoaves list.
With regard to this article, I think it will need splitting fairly soon to a generic article on albatrosses and separate species accounts. Ill do it when I get timejimfbleak 10:24 Mar 29, 2003 (UTC)
Sounds reasonable, Jim. I'm not really up to speed on seabirds, but on checking the sources I have here I see that it looks as though the AOU has gone out on a limb with them. The latest official South African, and also the Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic lists have them as Procellariiformes, family Diomedeidae. Given that they are, in broad, Southern Hemisphere birds, it would be silly to ignore that. The South Africans seem to agree with the BOU, but the HANZAB list still has two genera. I suggest that we go with the South Africans & British on this one. I'll adjust the taxobox to suit in a little while. Tannin 12:27 Mar 29, 2003 (UTC)
How about something about Moby Dick. Doesn't albratross also mean an obstacle in your way to success?
Sleep and glide for six days?
I just read an odd fact...
- "Albatrosses can glide for six days without flapping their wings and sleep at the same time. About 100,000 albatrosses are killed each year by fishermen, about a third of whom are pirates." http://www.qi.com
Had a little look for another source but couldn't find one - is this really true? violet/riga (t) 21:04, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)
