There are four main species of albatross : Great Albatrosses , North Pacific Albatrosses , Mollymawks and Sooty Albatrosses . The four genera are the great albatrosses ( Diomedea ) , the mollymawks ( Thalassarche ) , the North Pacific albatrosses ( Phoebastria ) , and the sooty albatrosses or sooties ( Phoebetria ) . Of the four genera , the North Pacific albatrosses are considered to be a sister taxon to the great albatrosses , while the sooty albatrosses are considered closer to the mollymawks .