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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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