| State-listed: | Threatened |
| State-recognized: | Indigenous |
| National Level | Bird of Concern |
| NatureServe Heritage Rank | G3G4- Vulnerable/Apparently secure |
| North American Waterbird Conservation Plan |
High Concern |
| IUCN Red List Ranking | Near Threatened |
The Ka‘upu or Black-footed Albatross is the smallest albatross (Family: Diomedeidae) found in Hawai‘i. Adult males and females are entirely black except for a narrow whitish area at the base of the bill and another under the eyes; ten percent of the individuals also have a white rump and under-tail coverts. Like all albatross, Ka‘upu (Black-footed Albatross) are accomplished fliers using dynamic soaring to cover great distances.
Ka‘upu (Black-footed Albatross) feed on the surface by seizing prey while sitting on the water, and will “tip-up” very similar to ducks. Like many seabirds, it uses a well-developed olfactory sense to locate food.
Ka‘upu (Black-footed Albatross) form long-term pair bonds and exhibit a high degree of nest site philopatry. Breeding occurs in large colonies and nests are placed on open, sandy beaches or dunes. Pairs engage in noisy, ritualized courtship dances. Pairs remain together until the death or disappearance of a partner but do not breed every year. Ka‘upu (Black-footed Albatross) nest in scooped out hollows on the upper parts of sandy beaches. In Hawai‘i, eggs are laid in November and chicks fledge in June and July, and like many seabirds, only one egg is laid per year. Both male and female incubate egg, and brood and feed young. Young birds do not return to land until their third year after fledging. These birds do not breed, but dance, build nests, and prospect for mates.
Terrestrial: Ka‘upu (black-footed albatross) breed on low coral and sand islands, and use open sandy beaches or dunes for nest sites, occasionally nesting occurs among vegetation.
Marine: Pelagic.
The management goals are important to Pacific seabird conservation: maintain, protect, and enhance habitat; eradicate or control non-natives; minimize bycatch and other negative effects of fishing; improve the effectiveness of oil spill response efforts; identify contaminants and hazardous substances; and minimize the effects of powerlines, towers, wind turbines and lights (USFWS 2005). The goal of these management actions is not only to protect seabird populations and their breeding colonies, but also to reestablish former breeding colonies thereby reducing the risk of extinction. Past actions have included efforts to mitigate the impact of longline fisheries and predator control.
Historically, wanton killing for feathers (i.e., millinery trade) greatly reduced populations. Populations extirpated from Johnston, Wake, and Marcus islands by Japanese feather hunters at the turn of the last century are only recently being recolonized. Untold numbers were killed as a result of military activities in the Pacific during World War II. Between 1954 and 1964, 54,000 albatross were killed on Midway to reduce the risk of collisions with aircraft. In 1909, 300,000 birds were killed on Laysan Island. Prior to banning drift net fisheries in 1993, thousands were killed annually. In the 1990s, longline fisheries killed thousands annually.
Gathering salvage seabird materials in Kure field camps support the perpetuation of traditional practices and ceremonies that promote responsible environmental kinship and whose tools and feather products were traditionally made from seabirds.
Ka manu kaʻupu hālō ʻalo o ka moana
The kaʻupu, the bird that observes the ocean.
Said of a careful observer
