World's oldest known bird breeding again at 73

The world's oldest known bird, a Laysan Albatross called Wisdom, has returned to her nesting grounds at Midway Atoll for the 2023-24 breeding season.

Wisdom was first noted before Christmas and has subsequently been seen courting an unringed male Laysan Albatross, according to Friends of Midway Atoll.

Wisdom is at least 73 years old. She was first ringed by conservationists in 1956, when she was already an adult, and she has outlived the person that ringed her all those years ago, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wisdom the Laysan Albatross, on the right, with her previous partner (USFWS).

Nowadays, Wisdom is identifiable by her red ring bearing the code 'Z333', which allows conservationists to confirm when she returns to the colony each year.

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is situated off the coast of Hawaii and hosts the largest colony of albatrosses in the world, with up to 450,000 pairs of Laysan Albatross breeding there.