Record-breaking 75-year-old mother bird prepares to nest
One of the world’s most famous birds has returned to its nesting site. Wisdom, the 75-year-old albatross is known as the world’s oldest breeding bird. Earlier this month, she returned to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the central Pacific Ocean for the 2025-2026 nesting season.
Laysal albatrosses like Wisdom (or mōlī in Hawaiian) return to the same nesting site every year. Once they reach the wildlife refuge located at the northwest end of the Hawaiian archipelago, the birds will reunite with their partners. If all goes well, they will lay a single egg and stay on the atoll to nest. According to the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, its arrival this year is slightly earlier than in previous years. His companion from last year has not yet been spotted.
In 1956, wildlife biologist Chandler Robbins first identified and banded Wisdom after she laid an egg. Since then, Wisdom has produced around 50 to 60 eggs and up to 30 chicks have fledged in her lifetime. Last year, Wisdom became the world’s oldest known wild bird to successfully lay an egg at the estimated age of 74.
Deep-sea sponges and Greenland sharks are also known in the animal kingdom for their advanced reproductive ages. Colonial sponges are thought to be able to reproduce for thousands of years, while the elusive Greenland sharks can live for more than 200 years and reproduce for several of those.
If the name “Midway” sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve heard of the pivotal Battle of Midway during World War II. In 1993, President Bill Clinton transferred the atoll from the Navy to the Department of the Interior. These islands are now home to the Battle of Midway National Memorial and provide a sanctuary for millions of birds and marine life.
PopSci Outdoor Gift Guide 2025
