Skip to main content

Black Guillemot

Cepphus grylle
Guillemots, Puffins, Murrelets, and Auks all belong to the same family-- Alcidae. They are like the Northern Hemisphere's answer to Penguins (black & white, live in cold waters, dive for fish)... only they can actually fly!

Black Guillemots are one of a several Alcid species that live near the waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. They breed on the coasts, congregating in colonies that can number more than 20,000 birds. One interesting tidbit is that these birds look different depending on how far north they live. The higher the latitude, the more white they have on them. Some of these normally black birds can be entirely white in their winter feathers, with the exception of black wings.

These birds are wonderful swimmers, and can fly decently to boot. Walking? Well... it's a little funny looking. It's no wonder that these birds get all of their food from the water-- they are able to dive down several dozen feet, using their wings to paddle. A Black Guillemot can hold its breath for about two and a half minutes, and they feed on fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. After catching a fish, the Guillemot actually carries it back crosswise in its beak.

Black Guillemots are currently listed at Least Concern, but that may someday change. Because they feed only near the surface of the water they are susceptible to the pollutants that congregate there. Oils, pesticides, and Mercury have all been found in the birds and their eggs.
IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Atlantic
Size : Body length around 14in (36cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Alcidae -- Genus : Cepphus -- Species : C. grylle
Image : Brette Soucie
Labels:

Comments

  1. cv writing serviceJuly 6, 2017 at 3:18 AM

    I think mostly birds remain least concerned. They only care about food and don’t interfere in others’ matters. Thanks for sharing the detail of this beautiful creature.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more