Albatross chicks take a long time to fledge (learn how to fly). In the case of more bigger albatrosses, it can take up to 280 days. And even for the smaller albatrosses, it can take from 140 to 170 days. Like many seabirds, albatross chicks later become even heavier than their mother and father. When they are preparing their body for flying, they may also grow flight feathers, which makes them sometimes as heavy as their parents. Between 15% and 65% of those who fledged survive to find their mate after. Albatross chicks learn to fly on their own. Their parents do not teach them, and instead they return to the nest even after their chick has left.