It is unlucky to kill an albatross 

This is one of many sailors’ superstitions and is referenced in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, published in 1798.

Traditionally sailors considered seeing an albatross to be a sign of good luck, probably originating from the early days of navigation when sailors thought that seeing an albatross meant land was near. Little did they know that albatrosses can live many years at sea without ever setting foot on land!

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a sailor shoots and kills an albatross with a cross bow and as punishment the crew of the ship force him to wear the dead bird’s carcass around his neck. This is where the metaphor of an albatross to mean a burden originated from.

The death of the albatross brought terrible bad luck to the ship, including a lack of drinking water – water, water every where, nor any drop to drink – until eventually a ghost ship appears and kills all the sailors.