Large black-and-white seabird with a long, thin bill. Breeding birds have an entirely black head.
In water, looks rather ducklike with a long and slender body and bill. Nonbreeding birds have a white throat, chin, and cheek that wraps up behind the eye.
Nests in colonies on steep, cliff ledges, slopes, and rocky outcrops. Constantly makes guttural calls at the colony.
Stands upright like a penguin. "Bridled" form in the Atlantic region has a white eyering that extends across the side of its face.
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A large, heavy-bodied seabird, similar in shape to a loon (but smaller and shorter necked). It has a long, pointed bill, short tail, and slender, pointed wings.
Larger than a Pigeon or Black Guillemot, smaller than a Common Loon.
crow-sizedWorldwide, five subspecies are described, three of which occur in North America. Pacific-nesting subspecies include californica, which breeds from California to southern British Columbia; and inornata, which breeds from northern British Columbia to Alaska and eastern Asia. In the Atlantic, the smaller aalge breeds in northeastern North America east to Russia. The other subspecies are albionis (in western Europe and the United Kingdom) and hyperborea (Norway). It's thought that the very different Atlantic and Pacific groups have been separated from one another since the Pleistocene.
Auks, Murres, and Puffins(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Alcidae)
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