Jon Anton Auer, age 15, of Wichita, Kan., for his question:

How big is an albatross?

There are about a dozen species of albatross, and all of them arc lonely ocean travelers. The giant of the family is the wandering albatross whose outstretched wings may measure 12 feet from tip to tip. He may be four and a half feet long from his sturdy yellow bill to his stumpy tail. He tips the scales at between 20 and 25 pounds. The long, white wings with their sooty black tips are only about 11 inches in width.

The lonely albatross is built for a life at sea, and he comes to the land only at nesting time. He can skim the water or soar aloft for hours. To rest, he sits on the waves like a bobbing cork. His food is in the water, and when hungry he uses his hooked, seven inch bill to scoop up fishes, squids and scraps from passing ships.