Black Guillemot
Cepphus grylle
Track and Watch 3
This species is one of the 'track and watch' species in the Yukon as it is rare, threatened or both. If you see this species please take a photo (if you can), note where you are and either upload it to iNaturalist or send it straight to the Conservation Data Centre (CDC) by downloading a Field Observation Form for animals or by using your own method or reporting, and sending it to us: yukoncdc@gov.yk.ca
Summary 4
A relatively small seabird, Black guillemots are approximately 32cm/12in in length and weighs 325-550g. In breeding plumage, as their name implies, Black guillemots are black from bill to tail. They also have large white wing patches, and bright red feet, legs and inside the mouth. After an early fall moult adults take on a patchy black and white plumage that has been described as "salt and pepper" and legs become a paler red. This winter plumage retains the white wing patch on the black wing, however the body plumage becomes white below and barred black and white above with a black bill and mostly white head. Newly fledged birds are similar to wintering adults and yearlings have an adult-like plumage with brownish spots in the white wing patch (Bedard 1985; Gaston 1985; Johnsgard 1987; Nettleship 1996; Stokes and Stokes 1996).
Habitat 5
Black guillemots nest in holes under rocks (rarely in ground) on rocky islands, among boulders at base of coastal cliffs, in or under beach flotsam and other human debris (e.g., in northern Alaska), or in coastal cliff crevices. Females tend to nest in the same site in successive years. In winter, they inhabit rocky seacoasts, open sea, or margins of landfast ice, seldom far from shore.
Sources and Credits
- (c) ecologyweb, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/7259557@N05/5262517187
- (c) Brian Gratwicke, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/briangratwicke/14624730648/
- (c) Yukon Conservation Data Centre, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
- Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31384578
- (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28822472
More Info
Range Map
iNaturalist.ca Map
| Color | black, red |
|---|---|
| Animal | Bird |
| Bird | guillemot |
