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Crested Auklet
last update: Mar 04, 2009 03:17 PM
Latin name: Aethia cristatella
Population: 6 million individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: Bering Sea, Okhotsk Sea, and North Pacific Ocean
Age/ life expectancy: unknown
Wingspan: 40-50 cm
Length: 18-20 cm
Weight: 260 g
Mating/Breeding: nest in mixed colonies with Least Auklets ranging in size from a few hundred to possibly more than a million pairs. Nests are located deep in rock crevices on sea-facing talus slopes, cliffs, boulder fields, and lava flows
Eggs: chalky white, 1 egg per clutch
Hibernation: range is poorly documented but usually present near breeding areas where the waters remain ice-free
Hunting Habits: surface dive
Feed on: mostly zooplankton
Predators: Arctic foxes, Red foxes, Herring gulls, Norway rats, and indigenous subsistence hunters
Colour/Body: a small seabird with a bright orange bill during breeding season and an eye-catching crest ornament that is present in both sexes. Males and females prefer mates with large crests and have a distinct tangerine odor to their plumage.
