Wisdom (left)

In March 2021, we posted about a Laysan albatross nicknamed Wisdom who, at the age of 70, had hatched a new chick. Wisdom is the oldest confirmed wild bird and the oldest banded bird in the world, having been first identified and banded on Midway Atoll in 1956 at about the age of five. 

Now at 74, Wisdom is still hale and hearty, returning each fall to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, having outlived most of her mates, and raised an estimated 30-40 chicks. Members of the species usually only live for 12-40 years.

Biologists report that the world’s oldest wild bird has laid another egg. She was recently filmed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with her latest partner looking after the egg.

The USFWS stated, “Wisdom’s continued contribution to the fragile albatross population is remarkable and important. Her health and dedication have led to the birth of other healthy offspring which will help recover albatross populations on Laysan and other islands.”

Bruce Peterjohn, chief of the North American Bird Banding Program, stated that Wisdom “[was] now the oldest wild bird documented in the 90-year history of [the] USGS-FWS and Canadian bird banding program. To know that she can still successfully raise young at age 60-plus, that is beyond words.”

The  United States Geological Survey (USGS) has tracked Wisdom since she was first tagged, and has estimated that Wisdom has flown over 3,000,000 miles (4,800,000 km) since 1956 (approximately 120 times the circumference of the Earth). To accommodate her longevity, the USGS has replaced her tag a total of six times. She and her chick survived the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 2,000 adult Laysan and black-footed albatrosses, and a much larger number of chicks, at the refuge.

The world’s oldest known bird Wisdom the Laysan albatross lays new egg at 74-years-old