It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands.

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

[4] They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage that helps desalinate their bodies, to compensate for the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe.

Small populations can be found on the Japanese islands of Tori Shima, Bonin, and Senkaku, and off the Mexican coast, primarily on Isla Guadalupe.

[3] Their range at sea varies during the seasons (straying farther from the breeding islands when the chicks are older or they don't have chicks) but they make use of great areas of the North Pacific, feeding from Alaska to California and Japan; however they do prefer the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

[14] Their vocalizations range from shrieks and squeals while fighting over food to bill-clapping, whistles, groans,[9] and quacks while courting.

[8] The black-footed albatross, like the rest of its family, forms long term pair-bonds that last for life.

[15] Nests are simple depressions scraped in the sand,[14] into which one dull white with reddish brown spots egg is laid.

It is also vulnerable to oil pollution in the water, and to the ingestion of floating plastics, which reduces the space in the stomach available for food to be brought to its chicks.

Almost 80% of the breeding population is counted or sampled each year, and most fisheries take measures to prevent seabird bycatch.