Transcript:

ALBATROSS NESTINGmusicThe bird that made the breezes blow, whose death reversed the Sun's direction in the sky. Samuel Coleridge said that about the albatross, a sea bird whose real life behavior, while not supernatural, is none the less remarkable. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.ambience: albatrossThose are the sounds of albatrosses, recorded in their courtship ritual. By this week, most of the albatrosses in Australia and other South Pacific Islands have finished mating, and now they're tending to their eggs. As Lincoln Fairchild at the National Park Service tells us, it's one of the few times that you'll find these birds on shore.Fairchild: During non-breeding periods, albatrosses are oceanic birds, and they literally wander the Pacific. It's only during breeding that they come to land at all.Albatrosses are mostly solitary until mating, when they choose one bird who will be their partner for life. During nesting season, the new couple takes turns tending their eggs on shore, and during that time they're anything but alone. The nesting sites are packed with birds, and albatrosses use their complex vocalizations to mingle with their fellow residents. Fairchild: Because they are big birds, they need a lot of room to land. So typically what they do is they land on the beach of the island and then walk to their nest, which may be as much as 1/2 a mile away. But to get to their nests they must pass literally thousands of albatrosses. So walking through all these birds encourages some sociality, and they stop at each nest they come to and they chat with the nest resident, and they have the full vocal repertoire to carry on whatever discussions they feel they must carry on.I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.