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Old wild bird a new mom ... at 60

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Staff Writers
Laurel, Md. (UPI) Mar 8, 2011
The oldest known U.S. wild bird, conservatively estimated to be about 60 years old, is a new mom, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported Tuesday.

The Laysan albatross named Wisdom was seen a few weeks ago with a new chick at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Geological Survey Tuesday said in a news release.

The bird has worn -- and worn out -- five bird bands since she was first banded by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Chandler Robbins in 1956 while incubating an egg. Chandler estimated Wisdom to be at least 5 years old at the time because that is the earliest age at which the species breeds. However, USGS said the Laysan albatross typically begin breeding at ages 8 or 9, so Wisdom could be in her early 60s.

"She looks great," said Bruce Peterjohn, head of the North American Bird Banding Program at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md. "And she is now the oldest wild bird documented in the 90-year history of our USGS-FWS and Canadian bird banding program."

To know that Wisdom can still raise a chick at her age "is beyond words," Peterjohn said.

Almost as amazing as being a parent at 60 is the number of miles Wisdom likely logged -- about 50,000 miles a year as an adult, or at least 2 million to 3 million miles since she was first banded, the USGS said. That's four to six round trips from Earth to the moon, with miles to spare.



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