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Deepseawaters
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Sea BirdsParakeet Auklet
Parakeet Auklet
Common Name: Parakeet Auklet
Scientific Name: Aethia psittacula
Description
Parakeet Auklets are in
the family of birds known as the Alcidae which are commonly
referred to as the auks. The Alcidae family consists of murres,
puffins, murrelets, and other auks. All of the
birds in this family are characterized by their ability to
fly through the air as well as dive underwater using
their wings to swim. Like all seabirds, Parakeet
Auklets spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land
only to breed and raise young. They breed sometimes in huge
numbers on coastal headlands and islands throughout Alaska
and Asia. Parakeet Auklets got their name because
of their unusually shaped bill, which is almost round like
that of a parrot.
This unique bill shape helps them to feed
on their favorite foods of slimy jellyfish and zooplankton.
Since jellyfish are relatively slow moving, Parakeet
Auklets do not need to swim as fast or dive as deep as
other alcids that feed on small fish. When they come to land
to breed, they scramble around quite well, despite their large
webbed feet and pot-bellied appearance. Auklet breeding colonies
are noisy affairs as thousands of males screech and ‘whinny’
to advertise their presence. They usually nest in the crevices
of rocks or under the shelter of boulders, but they are very
capable of digging burrows in the soil to nest in. There they
lay a single white egg that is incubated by both parents.
The chick stays in the nest site until fully grown, where
it waits for its parents to return from sea with food. When
the chick has grown enough to fly, it leaves its crevice at
night and flies out to sea. Its parents stop taking care of
it once it leaves the nest and so it must quickly learn to
swim and find food on its own.
Identification Tips
Length: 7.25 inches
Sexes similar
Small alcid that dives for food from water surface
Thick, short, upturned, bright red bill
Yellow eye
Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed
United States range mostly confined to Alaska, stray elsewhere
Adult Blternate
White plume behind eye
Blackish head, neck, and upperparts
White belly, and undertail coverts
Adult Basic
Blackish head, nape, and upperparts
White throat, breast, belly, and undertail coverts
Bill darker
Similar Species
The Parakeet Auklet's bright red bill distinguishes it from all alcids except Crested and Whiskered Auklets. These species have dark bellies, crests, and different bill shapes. In winter, the short, thick bill (sometimes bright red) is a useful field mark. Crested, Whiskered, and Rhinoceros Auklets have somewhat similar bill shapes but all have dark, not white, throats and breasts.
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