Mike Chippolla, age 13, of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, for his question:

WHAT IS AN ALBATROSS?

An albatross is a large sea bird that is found in almost all oceans. Best known is the wandering albatross of the southern seas. His wingspread is up to 11 feet from tip to tip.

You'll often find the albatross following a ship at sea. He will fly behind it, dining on scraps of food thrown from the ship, or on fish and squid, and he seldom finds it necessary to land on the surface to rest.

Only at breeding time will the albatross come to land. Thousands assemble on remote islands. The female lays a single egg which is left on bare ground. The egg hatches in 80 days.

Some of the strange beliefs sailors have about the albatross are told in a poem called "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.