Close up! A colour-banded Northern Royal Albatross is photographed in Chilean waters

Colour-Banded Northern Royal Albatross off Chile

A colour-banded Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea sanfordi (Endangered) was photographed in Chilean waters on 05 July 2026 by Claudio Véliz.  The bird was marked with plastic band black 535 and metal band R-67933 on 30 January 2022 as an adult of unknown sex by Mike Bell of Toroa Consulting in a study plot on Motuhara (The Forty Fours), Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Close up of the plastic band; the metal band is just visible on the left leg, photographs by Claudio Véliz

With thanks to Dave Boyle and Claudio Véliz for information via Pelagics. Seabirds birding worldwide.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 08 August 2026