Birdsong field guide
Whiskered Auklet
Aethia pygmaea
A small, highly specialized North Pacific seabird recognized by its striking white facial plumes and distinctive forward-curving forehead crest.
What it sounds like
A series of low-pitched rasping croaks, metallic chirps, and complex whistling notes used during social displays.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
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Field notes
- The white facial plumes function as tactile sensors, similar to mammalian whiskers, to help the bird navigate dark nesting crevices.
- During the breeding season, both sexes emit a powerful, citrus-like scent that is often compared to the smell of tangerines.
- They are the most nocturnal of the auklet species, typically arriving at and departing from breeding colonies under the cover of darkness to avoid predators.
- Unlike their relatives, they forage in nearshore tidal rips and eddies, specializing in capturing copepods and other zooplankton.
- Nests are located deep within volcanic rock crevices or talus slopes, providing protection from gulls and eagles.
Habitat
Subarctic marine waters and rugged, volcanic island coastlines with deep rock crevices.
Range
The Aleutian, Commander, and Kuril Islands within the Bering Sea and North Pacific.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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