Wisdom the Albatross: A Scientist Put a Tag on Her Leg in 1956… She Is Still Flying
Part of: Animal Heroes & Amazing Trees
In 1956, a scientist put a tag on the leg of an albatross. In 2002, he found the same bird again. Today Wisdom is at least 75 — the oldest known wild bird — and she still flies over the ocean. Learn five A1 words and the present simple with her true story.
Coming 24 November 2026, 3:00 pm New York time
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
In 1956, a scientist put a tag on a bird's .
46 years later, he found the same bird.
This is the story of Wisdom.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. Birds stand on their .
In 1956, a scientist put a tag on her .
. A baby bird comes out of an .
She sat on her .
. A bird uses its to fly.
Her are very long.
. A is a baby bird.
The and father feed the .
. A is a woman or a female animal with a baby.
At about 74, she was a again.
Now, one pattern: he, she or it, plus a verb with s.
We use it for things that happen again and again.
I fly.
She flies over the ocean.
Ready? Let's begin.
Wisdom is a big sea bird.
In 1956, a scientist put a tag on her .
She sat on her .
Her are very long — longer than a man!
She flies over the ocean for months.
Every year, she comes back to a small island.
In 2002, the same scientist came back.
He looked at the tag on a bird's .
It was the same bird!
Her old partner did not come back, but she found a new one.
They had a .
The and father feed the .
At about 74, she was a again.
Today, Wisdom is at least 75.
She is the oldest known wild bird.
She still flies over the ocean.
And in 2026, her son had a .
Wisdom is a grandmother!
Let's review. In 1956, a scientist put a tag on her .
She sat on her .
Her are very long.
The and father feed the .
At about 74, she was a again.
And remember: she flies over the ocean.
Wisdom's story teaches us: you are never too old to start again.
Want more interesting lessons?
Go to brightlivesenglish.com.
Please subscribe and learn with us.
Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
leg noun
a part of the body that birds and people stand on
“In 1956, a scientist put a tag on her leg.”
egg noun
a round thing that a baby bird comes out of
“She sat on her egg.”
wing noun
a part of a bird's body that it uses to fly
“Her wings are very long.”
chick noun
a baby bird
“The mother and father feed the chick.”
mother noun
a woman or female animal with a baby
“At about 74, she was a mother again.”
albatross noun
a very big sea bird with long wings
“Wisdom is an albatross.”
nest noun
the place where a bird lays its eggs
“Her nest is on the sand.”
Pacific noun
the biggest ocean in the world
“Midway is in the Pacific.”
Grammar in the story
he / she / it + verb-s
We use it for: present simple for things that happen again and again
- I fly → she flies
- I come → she comes
- I find → she finds
From the story
- She flies over the ocean.
- My brother plays football every Sunday.
Find it in the story 6 times
Your turn
Every year, she back to the island.
Wisdom over the ocean for months.
Every day, my sister to school.
Step 4
Story Challenge
10 quick rounds: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the words. Answer in a row to build a streak and earn bonus points.
Well done!
Look at these again
This week's top 10
Resets every MondayNo scores yet this week. Be the first!
Lesson complete!
- 0/4steps
- 0/8words learned
- 0/3stars
Up next
Loading your next story…
Take it further
Before you watch: What is the oldest animal you know? Do you like birds?
After you watch: Write three sentences about a person in your family with he / she + verb-s. For example: My mother cooks every day. My brother plays football. My cat sleeps a lot.
Think about it: Wisdom had a new partner and a new chick at about 74. Are we ever too old to start something new?
Image credits (all public domain, US Fish & Wildlife Service, via Wikimedia Commons):
- Wisdom on Midway, 2023 and 2025 — Jon Plissner / USFWS
- Laysan albatross flying, 1997 — Michael Lusk / USFWS
- Wisdom with her new mate and chick, 2024–2025; albatross take-off and nests, 2025–2026; Wisdom’s grand-chick, 2026 — Dan Rapp / USFWS volunteer
- Wisdom on Midway, 2019 — William Kennerley / USFWS
- Wisdom’s egg, 2013 — Pete Leary / USFWS
- Wisdom and her chick, 2011 — John Klavitter / USFWS
- Wisdom on her egg, 2014 — Daniel W. Clark / USFWS
The 1956 and 2002 scenes in the video are illustrations.
