An albatross with a pale grey head and a dark grey back. The combination makes it look like it is wearing a hood. This is the grey-headed mollymawk. It is medium-sized and elegant. It is also increasingly rare. It breeds on remote islands and ranges across the Southern Ocean. It does not come to land often. The visits are brief. They are necessary. The bill is black with bright yellow ridges. An orange tip marks the end. The eye is dark. The head is pale grey. It fades to white on the throat. In flight, the underwing is white. A broad dark trailing edge runs along the back. A dark triangle sits at the shoulder. These markings identify the bird. They distinguish it from its cousins. It feeds on fish, squid, and krill. It follows fishing vessels for discards. Like all albatrosses, it is vulnerable to longline bycatch. The hooks kill thousands each year. The loss is steady. It is unsustainable. The flight is typical mollymawk. It flaps and glides. The motion is efficient and direct. It covers enormous distances with minimal effort. A grey-headed mollymawk tagged with a satellite tracker was recorded flying 3,000 kilometres in a week. The distance is vast. The effort is hidden. Breeding takes it to remote islands. The nest is a pedestal of mud and vegetation. It is built on a cliff ledge or a steep slope. A single egg is laid. Both parents share incubation. They take shifts of up to two weeks. The chick takes four months to fledge. The wait is long. The risk is high. The species breeds on islands around the Southern Ocean. South Georgia, the Prince Edward Islands, the Crozets, and Kerguelen are key sites. In New Zealand, it uses Campbell and Antipodes Islands. The population is declining everywhere. The decline is driven by bycatch and climate change. Warming seas shift prey distribution. The birds have to fly further to find food. They return to their colonies in poorer condition. They breed less successfully. On Campbell Island, the population has declined by more than 50 per cent in recent decades. The numbers are not encouraging. The birds keep returning. They keep trying. That is all they can do. The name 'chrysostoma' means golden mouth. It refers to the yellow bill. The bird's mouth is not golden. The bill is. A small mistranslation that stuck. It persists in the literature. The toroa are chiefly birds. They are respected in Māori tradition. This one is in trouble. It needs help. The assistance is slow to arrive. The threats remain. It carries on.