Alternative name: Little Auk
- Alle alle
Identification
19-21cm
- Black upperparts
- Black head, neck and wings
- Lower face and fore-neck becomes white in winter
- White below
- Small round black tail
- Short bill
Distribution
Breeding in Arctic areas (mostly northern Atlantic Ocean), in winter to northern Europe and north-eastern USA.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- A. a. alle:
- Baffin Island, Greenland and Iceland to Novaya Zemlya
- A. a. polaris:
- Frans Josef Land to St. Lawrence Island; winters to Maine
Habitat
Open sea and coastal mountainsides for breeding.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes crustaceans, small invertebrates and fish.
Breeding
They breed in large colonies, nesting in crevices or beneath large rocks; they raise a single chick.
Vocalisation
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Dovekie. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Dovekie
External Links
Search the Gallery using the scientific name:
Search the Gallery using Little Auk:
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
