They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus.

[5] In 1998, Robertson and Nunn published their view that the Campbell albatross (Thalassarche impavida), should be split from this species (T.

[10] The black-browed albatross was first described as Diomedea melanophris by Coenraad Jacob Temminck, in 1828, based on a specimen from the Cape of Good Hope.

It has a dark grey saddle and upperwings that contrast with the white rump, and underparts.

The features that distinguish it from other mollymawks (except the closely related Campbell albatross) are the dark eyestripe which gives it its name, a broad black edging to the white underside of its wings, white head and orange bill, tipped darker orange.

The black-browed albatross is circumpolar in the southern oceans, and it breeds on 12 islands throughout that range.

[3] The black-browed albatross feeds on fish, squid, crustaceans, carrion, and fishery discards.

[22] Diego Ramírez decreased in the 1980s but has rebounded recently,[23][24] and the Falklands had a surge in the 1980s[14][25] probably due to abundant fish waste from trawlers;[26] however, recent censuses have shown drastic reduction in the majority of the nesting sites there.

[7] Increased longline fishing in the southern oceans, especially around the Patagonian Shelf and around South Georgia has been attributed as a major cause of the decline of this bird,[27][28][29][30] The black-browed albatross has been found to be the most common bird killed by fisheries.

[28][29][31][32][33][34][35] Trawl fishing, especially around the Patagonian Shelf[36] and near South Africa, is also a large cause of deaths.

[38] Although this is a rare occurrence, on several occasions a black-browed albatross has summered in Scottish gannet colonies (Bass Rock, Hermaness and now Sula Sgeir) for a number of years.

For four consecutive years from 2014 on, a bird - probably the same individual named Albert - has been sighted over Heligoland, and on the east coast of England.