Cassin's Auklet

Cassin's Auklet leaving nest burrow

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About the map

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Cassin's Auklet, swimming

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Behavior
6. Conservation Status
7. Other Names

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

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.

Description

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

• 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.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, male with slightly deeper bill.

Immature

Similar to adult.

Sound

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

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds on offshore islansd from the Aleutians in Alaska to Baja California.

Winter Range

Winter range poorly known. May withdraw from northern part of breeding range; found from southeastern Alaska to Baja California.

Behavior

Foraging

Dives underwater to capture prey, using its wings to swim.

Conservation Status

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

Other Names

Starique de Cassin (French)
Alcuela norteamericana (Spanish)

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.