Because of their hollow bones, they weigh only a few pounds. They fly too fast to feed on the wing, so they settle on the water, dipping their heads to feed. They eat fish eggs, fish, squid, and crustaceans. Cold-ocean birds, they are rarely seen feeding in the tropics. Birds that nest in Hawai'i fish the cold waters of the North Pacific.
Albatrosses live long, mate for life, and produce only one egg every one or two years.
They produce eggs from 7 or 8 years old until their 20's. Once at risk because they were hunted for their feathers, albatross populations have recovered and the bird is no longer considered endangered. Some albatrosses are killed when they swallow hooks baited with squid trailing from long-line fishing boats trolling for a'u, or swordfish . The birds are dragged into the water and drowned after swallowing the hooks. In some cultures sailors believe that these solitary flyers of the open ocean are the souls of dead sailors, and that killing an albatross will bring bad luck.