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.

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.

[3] Until 2013, the IUCN classified this species as endangered due to a drastic reduction in population.

[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.