Wandering Albatross
February 25, 2026
The Wandering Albatross Egg (Diomedea exulans) is one of Leila Jeffrey’s new works and part of her series Stillness that focuses on the profound beauty and symbolism of birds’ eggs.
In her own words “…eggs embody the possibilities of birth, rebirth, and transformation, symbolising both potential and optimism. On the other hand, they are also delicate and perilously vulnerable, highlighting the fragility of life…
Especially this whitish Wandering Albatross Egg has captured her fully. Leila: “Its shape feels prehistoric, its textures and markings are exquisitely unique, and its size is striking and then to think that within this shell lies the genetic lineage of its species, carrying the inherited traits and adaptations passed down through countless generations of its family”.
The Wandering Albatross birds spend most of their lives in the air, coming ashore in the southern summer to breed near the Arctic Circle. Their wingspan can extend over 3 meters (11 feet), not surprising, they use wind to move at low energetic costs.
They mate for life and can get as old as 50 years! Each season, they will have just 1 egg that will take them a year to breed. This is why the parents take a sabbatical ! for a year at sea after their year of breeding, to rest and regain energy before returning to the colony to breed again.
This Wandering Albatross is listed on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. There are only 20,000 pairs left worldwide. The biggest threat is marine plastic pollution and fishing bycatch.