A pair of affectionate Black-Browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) seen on New Island in the Falkland Islands on December 19th, 2024. It’s widely assumed that albatross form lifelong partnerships with a single mate but, while they do form life-long social bonds with a single partner, they are not as faithful to their mate as you may expect. One study showed somewhere between 14% and 24% of chicks born have a parent that isn’t one of the pair rearing them!
For the technically inclined...