World's oldest-known wild bird lays an egg in Hawaii at age 74

Wisdom, the legendary Laysan albatross or mōlī, stands at right with red leg tag next to her new partner as they admire their recently laid egg at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 in Honolulu. (Dan Rapp/USFWS via AP)

The oldest known wild bird in the world has laid an egg at the ripe age of about 74, her first in four years, U.S. wildlife officials said.

The long-winged seabird named Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago and laid what experts estimate may be her 60th egg, the Pacific Region of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said in a Facebook post this week.

Wisdom and her mate, Akeakamai, had returned to the atoll in the Pacific Ocean to lay and hatch eggs since 2006. Laysan albatrosses mate for life and lay one egg per year. But Akeakamai has not been seen for several years and Wisdom began interacting with another male when she returned last week, officials said.

“We are optimistic that the egg will hatch,” Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge said in a statement. Every year, millions of seabirds return to the refuge to nest and raise their young.

Albatross parents take turns incubating an egg for about two months. Chicks fly out to sea about five to six months after hatching. They spend most of their lives flying over the ocean and feeding on squid and fish eggs.

Wisdom was first banded as an adult in 1956 and has raised as many as 30 chicks, Plissner said.

The typical lifespan of a Laysan albatross is 68 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.