LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Predatory mice are threatening the albatross population on a remote south Atlantic island and have caused the birds ' worst nesting season on record , a British bird charity says . Baby albatross on a remote Atlantic island are threatened by killer house mice . The research from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds indicates bad news for the Tristan albatross , whose only home is Gough Island in the middle of the south Atlantic . House mice not native to the island are threatening the Tristan albatross with extinction , the RSPB said . The mice are also threatening the native population of bunting , one of the world 's largest finches , the RSPB said . `` Without removal of the mice , both the albatross and the bunting that live there are doomed to extinction , '' Grahame Madge , a conservation spokesman for the RSPB , told CNN . The mice on the island eat the chicks of the albatross and bunting before they make it to the fledgling stage , the RSPB said . This makes it especially difficult for the albatross population to survive because the birds lay eggs only once every two years -- a very low reproductive rate compared to other birds , Madge said . `` What [ the mice ] are affecting is the ability of the albatross to produce enough young to sustain the population , '' he said . Adult Tristan albatross are threatened by longline fishing at sea , a practice in which boats put up numerous 100-meter long fishing lines baited with squid or fish . The albatrosses are attracted to the bait and while some manage to steal it successfully , many more get snagged and drown , Madge said . Because of the impact from house mice , introduced to the island by sealers in the 18th and 19th centuries , conservation alliance BirdLife International earlier this year listed both the Tristan albatross and the Gough bunting as critically endangered -- the highest threat level before extinction . Gough Island , a British territory almost midway between Argentina and South Africa , is a place of stunning natural beauty . The island is not inhabited by humans . Gough Island and nearby Inaccessible Island are both listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites . A survey of the albatross on Gough Island in January showed 1,764 adults incubating eggs , the RSPB said . A later survey revealed only 246 chicks had survived to fledgling . `` We 've known for a long time that the mice were killing albatross chicks in huge numbers , '' said RSPB scientist Richard Cuthbert , who recently visited the island to assess the problem . `` However , we now know that the albatrosses have suffered their worst year on record . '' The bunting suffer because the mice eat their eggs and chicks , and may also compete with them for food in the winter , Cuthbert said . `` The decline in bunting numbers is alarming , '' said Peter Ryan of the University of Cape Town , who has been studying buntings on the island since the 1980s . `` Without urgent conservation action to remove the mice , both the albatross and the bunting are living on borrowed time . '' The RSPB has been studying whether it is possible to remove the mice . It said trials so far look promising , but it urged the British government to step up funding for the project . It said eradicating the mice from Gough Island would solve the primary conservation threat facing both bird species . The RSPB said it had been working with New Zealand conservationists on a program to remove the smaller mice by dropping poisoned bait from helicopters . Tristan albatrosses are one of 22 species of albatross in the world . Albatrosses principally live in the southern Atlantic but some also live in the Pacific , the RSPB says . Albatrosses are among the largest flying birds , weighing up to 25 pounds ( 22.5 kilograms ) . One species -- the wandering albatross -- has a wingspan of 11 feet , the RSPB says . The birds can fly thousands of miles without a pause , and their only need to touch land is to nest and raise their young , the RSPB says .
House mice are threatening the albatross population on a small Atlantic island . House mice not native to the island are killing and eating birds . Mice are also threatening the native population of large mammals .