World's oldest wild bird became mom for 40th time

The world's oldest known wild bird, Laysan albatross, added a new chick to the family.

And according to experts, this is her 40th one.

The Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), named Wisdom, is at least 65 years old, reports Live Science.com.

Wildlife officials at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in Hawaii saw her lay an egg on November 28, 2015, and incubate it for several weeks. 

A fuzzy, gray chick cracked out of its shell on February 1. But Wisdom wasn't there when the baby chick hatched: She had headed out to sea on Januray 20, leaving her mate on nest duty.

She returned just after February 7 with a full belly and settled down on the nest, allowing her mate to fly off to sea in search of food, officials said.

Wildlife officials wasted no time in naming the chick, dubbing it K? kini, which means "messenger" in Hawaiian, reports Live Science.com.

"Wisdom is an iconic symbol of inspiration and hope," refuge manager Robert Peyton said in a statement. "From a scientific perspective, albatrosses are a critical indicator species for the world's oceans that sustain millions of human beings as well."

When researchers first tagged Wisdom in 1956, she was already a breeding adult. The iconic bird has raised at least eight chicks since 2006, and even survived the 2011 tsunami in Japan.