Comments on: Mollymawks (aka albatross) https://habitablezone.com/2021/12/03/mollymawks/ Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:19:33 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Sui https://habitablezone.com/2021/12/03/mollymawks/#comment-47596 Sui Sat, 04 Dec 2021 08:25:55 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=89821#comment-47596 They breed on land in New Zealand and that’s also where the name Mollymawk is from, at least indirectly. It’s from a Dutch word meaning foolish gull because they’d land on ships making a free meal for sailors, you missed a trick there ! I’ve heard or read that they taste vile though. It’s amazing watching them fly, we’d see them often only just off the coast as it was a rich feeding ground for whales and dolphins and so they’d hang around too at times. https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/ They breed on land in New Zealand and that’s also where the name Mollymawk is from, at least indirectly. It’s from a Dutch word meaning foolish gull because they’d land on ships making a free meal for sailors, you missed a trick there ! I’ve heard or read that they taste vile though.

It’s amazing watching them fly, we’d see them often only just off the coast as it was a rich feeding ground for whales and dolphins and so they’d hang around too at times.

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2021/12/03/mollymawks/#comment-47594 ER Sat, 04 Dec 2021 02:18:41 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=89821#comment-47594 One of these guys flew into our ship in mid-Pacific. It wandered around the deck in a dazed and confused state for a while (it must have slammed into the superstructure in the dark). But it didn't seem hurt, and it soon accepted food from the sailors (flying fish usually littered the decks every morning). It seemed to have no fear of humans. After a few days' free ride, it disappeared one night, no doubt with a full belly. I understand they spend their entire lives aloft, landing only to breed on remote atolls. I've never heard that term "mollymawk" before. We would often see them flying around the ship, or dipping into our wake, sometimes exploiting the ground effect just inches above the water surface. They appear to be designed for long distance flight, but they are quite maneuverable, often swooping deep into the troughs between swells, only to pull up abruptly at the crests to take advantage of the air kicked up by the wind as it spilled over the wave. They are graceful creatures. But we always called them "albatross". One of these guys flew into our ship in mid-Pacific. It wandered around the deck in a dazed and confused state for a while (it must have slammed into the superstructure in the dark). But it didn’t seem hurt, and it soon accepted food from the sailors (flying fish usually littered the decks every morning).
It seemed to have no fear of humans.

After a few days’ free ride, it disappeared one night, no doubt with a full belly.

I understand they spend their entire lives aloft, landing only to breed on remote atolls.

I’ve never heard that term “mollymawk” before. We would often see them flying around the ship, or dipping into our wake, sometimes exploiting the ground effect just inches above the water surface. They appear to be designed for long distance flight, but they are quite maneuverable, often swooping deep into the troughs between swells, only to pull up abruptly at the crests to take advantage of the air kicked up by the wind as it spilled over the wave. They are graceful creatures.

But we always called them “albatross”.

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