- Aethia psittacula
Identification
23 cm. Short orange bill, dark upper and white below, single white plume projecting back from the eye.
Distribution
Alaska and Kamchatka and Siberia.
Taxonomy
It used to be placed on its own in the genus Cyclorrhynchus (Kaup, 1829) but recent morphological and genetic evidence suggest it should be placed in the genus Aethia.
Habitat
Cliffs, slopes and boulder fields of offshore islands, generally moving south during the winter.
Behaviour
They spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land only to breed and raise young.
Diet includes small planktonic crustaceans such as euphausiids, copepods and amphipods.
Breeding takes place in April and May in colonies that are often shared with other auk species. Nests are made in crevices of rocks or under the shelter of boulders. 1 egg is laid, and is incubated for just over a month. The chick fledges after 35 days, at night, and flies out to sea, alone.
