Cassin's Auklet

Cassin's Auklet leaving nest burrow

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Cassin's Auklet, swimming

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A small, dark, gregarious seabird, the Cassin's Auklet can be found feeding in flocks and nesting in colonies from Alaska to Mexico.

Description

• Small seabird.
• Stocky, with round head and little neck.
• Dark gray above and below.
• White crescents above and below eyes.
• Short, thick, upturned bill, with pale base to lower mandible.

• Size: 23 cm (9 in)
• Weight: 150-200 g (5.3-7.06 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, male with slightly deeper bill.

Sound

Generally silent at sea. Makes loud creaking call at colony.

Conservation Status

Negatively affected by introduced predators (foxes) on nesting islands.

Other Names

Starique de Cassin (French)
Alcuela norteamericana (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Cassin's Auklet is the only alcid known to produce two broods in a single breeding season, at least in the southern part of the range where birds may be seen at nesting colonies every month of the year.
• Vulnerable to predators, especially large gulls, the Cassin's Auklet tends to visit its nest at night.

Sources used to construct this page:

Manuwal, D. A. and A. C. Thoresen. 1993. Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). In The Birds of North America, No. 50 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.) .Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.