Razorbill auk
| Razorbill Auk | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom Information | |
| Domain | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Subkingdom | Bilateria |
| Branch | Deuterostomia |
| Phylum Information | |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Sub-phylum | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum | Gnathostomata |
| Class Information | |
| Superclass | Tetrapoda |
| Class | Aves |
| Sub-class | Neornithes |
| Infra-class | Neoaves |
| Order Information | |
| Superorder | Charadriimorphae |
| Order | Charadriiformes |
| Sub-order | Lari |
| Infraorder | Alcides |
| Family Information | |
| Family | Alcidae |
| Sub-family | Alcinae |
| Tribe Information | |
| Tribe | Alcini |
| Genus Information | |
| Genus | Alca |
| Species Information | |
| Species | A. torda |
| Population statistics | |
| Population | 1,020,000+ (2018 est.)[1] |
| Conservation status | Near threatened[2] |
The razorbill auk (Alca torda) is a species of seabird of the family Alcidae, and found in the cold waters of the north Atlantic Ocean.
Description
The razorbill is large, about 14.5 to 16.5 inches long, a wingspan of 24.8 to 25.9 inches, and weigh 17.8 to 31.4 ounces. Males are slightly larger than females. Adult birds during the breeding season are black above, with the belly and the underside of the wings white. The beak is black, laterally-compressed and thick when viewed from the side, with a thin white line running from the eye to the upper beak, and a striking, white vertical line just before the nostrils. The plumage during the remaining seasons the throat, the nape of the neck and the face behind the eyes are white, while the facial and beak lines are less noticeable or missing. Juvenile birds have the non-breeding plumage, with a somewhat shorter, narrower and purely black beak.
Subspecies
- Alca torda islandica; eastern Greenland, Iceland and British Isles to France; winters to Mediterranean
- Alca torda torda; northeastern North America; Scandinavia to Murmansk and White Sea
Range and habitat
The razorbill is found in North Atlantic waters and coastlines, from north-central Greenland, south to Iceland, Scandinavia, and northern Europe to as far south as the Moroccan coast of north Africa; in the west to southern Baffin Island, south to the eastern Canadian coastline to Massachusetts. It lives in boreal to low-Arctic waters, primarily at sea, but restricting itself to within five miles of the shoreline; it comes ashore to areas featuring cliffs and rocky escarpments only to breed.
