Dovekie

Dovekie, adult, breeding plumage

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About the map

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Food
7. Behavior
8. Reproduction
9. Conservation Status
10. Other Names

A small, chunky black-and-white bird of the open Atlantic ocean, the Dovekie breeds along high arctic coasts and only makes its way southward in winter as far as New England. It is the smallest of the auks (the Puffin family) in the Atlantic.

Cool Facts

• The Dovkie breeding population at Thule in northwestern Greenland is the among largest and densest breeding aggregations of all auks. This population traditionally has been estimated as 30 million birds.
• The Dovekie sometimes shows up out of range along the east coast of North America in massive wrecks of stranded, starving birds. Sustained, strong easterly winds may make feeding conditions unsuitable and push the weakened, emaciated birds landward. The largest recorded wreck in North America, in the winter of 1932 -1933, saw Dovekies raining down on the streets of New York City and large numbers washing up along the entire eastern seaboard, from Nova Scotia to Florida.

Description

• Size: 19-23 cm (7-9 in)
• Wingspan: 38 cm (15 in)
• Weight: 134-204 g (4.73-7.2 ounces)

• Small waterbird.
• Stocky and without apparent neck.
• Black-and-white.
• Short, stubby bill.
• In breeding plumage, entirely black back, head, and chest; white belly.
• In nonbreeding plumage, black back, cap, and face; white throat and underside, with dark neckband.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, male slightly larger.

Immature

Similar to nonbreeding adult, but slightly browner.

Similar Species

• No other Atlantic alcid is as small, as stubby looking, or has such a small bill.

Sound

Generally silent at sea, makes high trilling call at nesting colony.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds primarily in Greenland, with at least one colony in Canadian Arctic.

Winter Range

Winters at sea from Newfoundland southward to Gulf of Maine; farther south in some years to New York or Virginia. Also off Northern Europe.

Food

Marine crustaceans and small fish.

Behavior

Foraging

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

Reproduction

Nest Type

Bed of pebbles in crevice amongst boulder field. Nests in large colonies.

Conservation Status

Although numerous, the Dovekie is difficult to count. No reliable information exists about any trends in populations.

Other Names

Mergule nain (French)
Mérgulo marino (Spanish)
Little Auk (British) (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Montevecchi, W. A., and I. J. Stenhouse. 2002. Dovekie (Alle alle). In The Birds of North America, No. 701 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.