Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) breeding colony

The Laysan albatross is a large seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to 99.7% of the population. This small gull-like albatross is the second most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands, with an estimated population of 2.5 million birds, and is currently expanding its range to new islands. The Laysan albatross was first described as ''Diomedea immutabilis'' by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in 1893, on the basis of a specimen from Laysan Island.