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

This is used against predators and as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights.

It helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe.

[7] The Indian yellow-nosed albatross weighs 2.55 kg (5.6 lb), is 76 cm (30 in)[8] long and is 2 m (6.6 ft) across the wings.

A mud nest is built in bare rocky areas or in tussock grass or ferns,[8][10] and a single egg is laid.

[12] At sea it ranges from South Africa to the Pacific Ocean just beyond New Zealand, ranging from 30° S to 50° S.[8][13] It is considered to be an endangered species by the IUCN,[1] due to dramatic declines in the last seventy years, caused by interactions with longline fisheries and the outbreak of introduced diseases, such as avian cholera and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae.

[14] Finally, in 2006, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission adopted a measure to require longline boats to use a bird streamer south of 30°S, and South Africa requires its boats to use a variety of mitigation processes.