It was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas from skins collected by Georg Wilhelm Steller (after whom its other common name is derived).

Once common, it was brought to the edge of extinction by the trade in feathers, but with protection efforts underway since the 1950s, the species is in the process of recovering with an increasing population trend.

Contrary to its name its tail is no shorter than that of the Laysan or black-footed, and is actually longer than that of the other member of the genus Phoebastria, the waved albatross.

[14] During non-breeding season they range across the North Pacific, with the males and juveniles gathering in the Bering Sea, and the females feeding off the coast of Japan and eastern Russia.

[15] The species has been extirpated as a breeder from Kita-no-shima, Enewetak Atoll, Kobishi, and the Bonin Islands (Nishino Shima, Yomejima, and (until recently) Mukojima).

[17] They also have a salt gland which is situated above the nasal passage helping desalinate their bodies, as an adaptation to the high amount of ocean water they imbibe.

These two populations are genetically, morphologically, and behaviourally distinct, preferring to mate with their own kind, and as such it has been argued by some authors that they should be classified as two separate cryptic species.

[10] This albatross historically preferred to nest on large open areas near stands of the grass, Miscanthus sinensis.

They were hunted on an industrial scale for their feathers in the later half of the 19th century, with some estimates claiming upward of 10 million birds destroyed.

Between 1927 and until 1933, hunting continued, when the Japanese government declared a ban to save the species, although by this time it was too late, the last albatrosses on the island has been killed.

Tori-shima is a National Wildlife Protection Area, and native plant species are being transplanted to assist in nesting.

[25] In Japanese tradition the short-tailed albatross is known as ahodori (阿呆鳥, idiot bird), due to its insular breeding habits making it trusting towards terrestrial predators, such as humans.