The world's oldest bird, the Laysan albatross Wisdom, has just given birth, adding another branch to her impressive family tree, according to Discovery. Wisdom, who is at least 65 years old according to the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), gave birth Feb. 1 and her chick named Kukini, Hawaiian for "messenger," by wildlife researchers, according to a USFWS blog post.
The good news comes just one year after an egg that Wisdom and her previous partner were incubating went missing, according to NPR.
Wisdom, who was first banded by ornithologist Chandler Robbins in 1956, has given birth to as many as 40 chicks and racked up millions of miles of ocean flight time over the course of her life.
"Wisdom is an iconic symbol of inspiration and hope," said Robert Peyton, manager of the refuge. "She is breaking longevity records of previously banded birds by at least a decade. With over a million albatross on Midway Atoll alone, this shows just how much is left to learn about the natural world around us."
The amazing lifespan of Wisdom has forced her to continuously find new mates as old ones die, although this hasn't decreased her breeding output, according to UPI.
"We're learning what these birds are capable of doing at what we consider to be an advanced age," said Bruce Peterjohn, chief of the U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. "She lays her eggs and raises her chicks. Common sense says at some point she would become too old for this."
Although the birth is an impressive feat given Wisdom's age, there are many albatross families that are following suit - officials say that 500,000 active nests are located at the USFWS Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to the world's largest albatross colony.
