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Auks

Seabirds page

Great Auk

Auks

Atlantic Puffin
Fratercula arctica

Common Guillemot
(Common Murre)
Uria aalge

Razorbill
Alca torda

Black Guillemot
Cepphus grylle

Little Auk
Alle alle

Rare UK visitors

Tufted Puffin
Fratercula cirrhata

Brünnich's Guillemot
(Thick-billed Murre)
Uria lomvia

Long-billed Murrelet
Brachyramphus perdix

Ancient Murrelet
Synthliboramphus antiquus

Other auks

There are about 25 species of auks worldwide. In addition to those listed above these are:

Horned puffin
Fratercula corniculata

Scripps's murrelet
Synthliboramphus scrippsi

Guadalupe murrelet
Synthliboramphus hypoleucus

Craveri's murrelet
Synthliboramphus craveri

Japanese murrelet
Synthliboramphus wumizusume

Pigeon guillemot
Cepphus columba

Kurile guillemot
Cepphus columba snowi

Spectacled guillemot
Cepphus carbo

Marbled murrelet
Brachyramphus marmoratus

Kittlitz's murrelet
Brachyramphus brevirostris

Cassin's auklet
Ptychoramphus aleuticus

Parakeet auklet
Aethia psittacula

Crested auklet
Aethia cristatella

Whiskered auklet
Aethia pygmaea

Least auklet
Aethia pusilla

Rhinoceros auklet
Cerorhinca monocerata

Project Puffin: The Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock

Stephen W. Kress & Derrick Z. Jackson

2015

"The inspiring story of a young ornithologist who reintroduced puffins where none had been seen for a century Project Puffin is the inspiring story of how a beloved seabird was restored to long-abandoned nesting colonies off the Maine coast. As a young ornithology instructor at the Hog Island Audubon Camp, Dr. Stephen W. Kress learned that puffins had nested on nearby islands until extirpated by hunters in the late 1800s. To right this environmental wrong, he resolved to bring puffins back to one such island-Eastern Egg Rock. Yet bringing the plan to reality meant convincing skeptics, finding resources, and inventing restoration methods at a time when many believed in "letting nature take its course." Today, Project Puffin has restored more than 1,000 puffin pairs to three Maine islands. But even more exciting, techniques developed during the project have helped to restore rare and endangered seabirds worldwide. Further, reestablished puffins now serve as a window into the effects of global warming. The success of Dr. Kress's project offers hope that people can restore lost wildlife populations and the habitats that support them. The need for such inspiration has never been greater."

RSPB Spotlight: Puffins

Euan Dunn

2014

"Surprisingly little was known about Puffin ecology until recently thanks to their preferred breeding habitat being underground on remote islands or hard-to-reach coastlines. Now Euan Dunn discloses all we have learnt about them as a result of technological advances, and provides a revealing account of their life cycle, behaviour and breeding, what they eat, how they interact in their busy colonies, and where they migrate to in winter. Euan also exposes the mounting threats Puffins face and offers advice on the best places to see them."

Puffins

Drew Buckley

2014

"The Atlantic Puffin is the UK's most recognisable seabird. Take an intimate journey with award winning wildlife photographer, Drew Buckley, as he observes the trials and joys of this charismatic creature through the lens of his camera. Featuring stunning photography, Puffins provides an amusing insight into the daily struggles of this tenacious little bird."

The Secret Lives of Puffins

Dominic Couzens

Christopher Helm

2013

"Award-winning wildlife photographer Mark Sisson has spent several years photographing puffins and this new book combines images that beautifully encapsulate their charm and visual appeal with an accessible text written by leading wildlife writer Dominic Couzens. The Secret Lives of Puffins covers the birds' life cycle, behaviour, habitats and the current and future challenges that they face, along with many surprising facts and anecdotes."

Puffins: An Artist's Sketchbook

Derek Robertson

2012

"Paintings and sketches of these delightful and charismatic birds."

The Puffin

Mike P. Harris & Sarah Wanless

2011

"The Puffin is a revised and expanded second edition of Poyser's 1984 title on these endearing birds, widely considered to be a Poyser classic. It includes sections on their affinities, nesting and incubation, movements, foraging ecology, survivorship, predation, and research methodology; particular attention is paid to conservation, with the species considered an important ‘indicator' of the health of our coasts."

An Alphataxonomic Revision of Extinct and Extant Razorbills (Aves, Alcidae): A Combined Morphometric and Phylogenetic Approach

Editors: N. Adam Smith and Julia A. Clarke

American Ornithologists' Union

2011

"Alca (Aves, Alcidae) has a comparatively rich fossil record with respect to other Charadriiformes, consisting of thousands of specimens. Despite the abundance of fossil material, species richness in this clade has remained poorly understood, primarily because of the paucity of associated specimens. To address this issue, a combined morphometric and apomorphy-based method was developed that would allow referral of fragmentary and isolated specimens, which constitute ~97% of the Alca fossil record. Measurements of multiple variables from >2000 Alca fossils were categorized by hierarchical cluster analysis and resulted in the recognition of species clusters. Discriminant function analysis was used to assess statistical support for these clusters and to identify the most informative measurements with respect to discriminating between species on the basis of size. The reliability of this method was tested using the same measurements taken from 13 extant alcid species and was found to be robust with respect to the accurate recovery of species-correlated groups of measurement data. With the exception of the similarly proportioned Alca carolinensis sp. nov. and A. olsoni sp. nov., the holotype specimens of all Alca species were recovered in separate, statistically supported clusters. These clusters of fossils were then evaluated for the presence of diagnostic morphological features, resulting in the recognition of three new Alca species. In contrast to previously described Alca species, two new species are described from holotype specimens that are associated partial skeletons. These associated specimens facilitated referral of isolated fossil material and phylogenetic estimation of alca relationships. Amended diagnoses for Alca species are proposed, and 203 humeri are referred to species on the basis of unique suites of characters and size ranges identified through these analyses. This method has potential for assessing species diversity in other taxa known from abundant fragmentary and/or isolated remains. The combined phylogenetic analysis includes the three new species described herein, nine extinct species in Alcini that have not been phylogenetically analyzed before, and six other extant or recently extinct (i.e., great auk [Pinguinus impennis]) Alcini species. The character matrix includes osteological characters and previously published molecular sequence data (ND2, ND5, ND6, CO1, CYTB, 12S, 16S, RAG1). The results support the monophyly of an Alca + Pinguinus clade recovered as the sister taxon to a clade composed of Uria, Miocepphus, and Alle. The description of three new species of auk from the Early Pliocene Yorktown Formation of North Carolina nearly doubles the number of known species in Alca, makes Alca the most speciose clade of Atlantic alcids, and supports previous hypotheses of high species richness in this clade. The sole extant species, the razorbill auk (Alca torda), may accordingly be viewed as the only survivor of a diverse Atlantic Ocean clade that was species-rich a mere 4 million years ago. These new fossils refine our knowledge of alcid paleodiversity, provide information regarding ancestral osteological states within Alca, and allow for increased understanding of radiation, extinction, and biogeography within this clade."

Puffins

Heather Angel

2007

"The comical and colourful faces of puffins have earned them the popular name 'clowns of the sea'. On land, they waddle and hop amongst tussocks and rocks to and from their burrows. But, once in the air, they wheel and turn with great agility while underwater they use their wings to sail through the water. In this book, the author portrays the multifarious activities of these lovable seabirds during their breeding season and reveals how they live and survive at high altitudes."

Monitoring Black Guillemot Population And Nesting Success At Herschel Island, Yukon Territory - 2005

Cameron D. Eckert, Dorothy Cooley, and Richard R. Gordon

2006

"The Black Guillemot colony at Pauline Cove on Herschel Island is the only one in the Yukon Territory, and one of the few in the western Arctic. This colony has been monitored for population and nesting success since about 1984. The nearest Black Guillemot nesting colony to Herschel Island, and the largest in the western Arctic is located at Point Barrow, Alaska. Researchers there have monitored that colony since the early 1970s and have explored link s between population declines, poor nesting productivity , changes in the physical environment, and climate change. The monitoring of Black Guillemot population and nesting success at Herschel Island Territorial Park can provide valuable information for understanding changes across the Beaufort Sea region."

Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet

Maria Mudd Ruth

2005

2013 edition Mountaineer Books

"Part naturalist detective story, part environmental inquiry, this vibrant narrative celebrates the fascinating world of an endangered seabird that depends on the contested old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest for its survival. "This chunky little seabird stole my heart." So confesses Maria Mudd Ruth, a veteran nature writer perfectly happy to be a generalist before getting swept up in the strange story of the marbled murrelet. This curiosity of nature, who flies like a little brown bullet at up to 100 miles an hour and lives most of its life offshore, is seen around land only during breeding season, when the female lays a single egg high on a mossy tree limb in the ancient coastal forest. Ruth traces reports of the bird back to Captain Cook's ill-fated voyage of discovery on the Pacific Ocean in 1778, and explores the mind-set of 19th- and 20th-century naturalists who - despite their best efforts - failed to piece together clues about the whereabouts of the bird's nest. She takes the reader along on adventurous outings to coastal meadows before dawn, and onto the ocean at midnight to learn firsthand how scientists observe nature. She interviews all the major players in the drama: timber company executives and fishing fleet operators whose businesses are threatened by conservation measures, as well as the so-called cowboy scientists who are devoted to saving the marbled murrelet from extinction."

2005 edition


2013 edition

Seabirds: A Natural History

Tony Gaston

2004

"This title takes an in-depth look at the lives of the world's true seabirds - the penguins, tubenoses, peleceaniids, gulls, terns, skuas and auks. These birds all spend much of their lives foraging at sea, but the range of ways that they are adapted to exploit the marine environment and balance this with the need to return to land to breed, is astoundingly diverse. They range from the albatrosses, which take their prey from the surface of the water and are capable of efficient gliding flight for hours on end, to the penguins which have dispensed with flight altogether and have developed a morphology and physiology which enables them to dive deeper and for longer than any other birds. The various problems of being a bird which forages at sea, and the array of solutions evolution has produced to counter them are the theme of this book, which should fascinate everyone with an interest in pelagic birds."

Project Puffin: How We Brought Puffins Back to Egg Rock

Stephen W. Kress & Pete Salmansohn

2003

"Written in the first person, this illustrated book tells of Kress' determination to reintroduce puffins to Eastern Egg Rock, an island off the Maine coast. Explaining that the large bird colonies in the area had been decimated by hunters in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, Kress describes Project Puffin, which began in 1973, when he and his team of "Puffineers" moved a few puffin chicks from Newfoundland to Eastern Egg Rock. After a number of years, the puffins raised in their new home began returning there to raise their young, effectively establishing the colony destroyed so many years before. Excellent full-color photographs on every page record the stages in the project, the sights on the island, and the lives of the birds."

The Marbled Murrelets of the Caren Range and Middle Point Bight

Paul H. Jones

2001

Status and Population Trends of the Razorbill in Eastern North America

Gilles Chapdelaine, Anthony W. Diamond, Richard D. Elliot, Gregory J. Robertson

2001

"Razorbill Alca torda is one of the rarest breeding auks in North America. A number of surveys have been conducted at breeding colonies in recent years to estimate population size and trends. Summarizing the available data, we estimate that approximately 38,000 pairs of Razorbills currently breed in eastern North America."

The Auks

Anthony J. Gaston, Ian L. Jones & Ian Lewington

Oxford University Press

1998

349 pages, 8 colour plates, black and white photographs, 44 line drawings, maps

A study of the entire Auk family. The first part of the book comprises general chapters on Auks and their world, systematics and evolution, distribution and biogeography, Auks in ecosystems, social behaviour, chick development and the transition from land to sea and populations and conservation. The second part comprises individual species accounts. All species are illustrated in new colour plates by Ian Lewington especially commissioned for this volume.

Puffins

Susan E. Quinlan

1998

"The puffin's unusual habits and habitat are explored through accurate, age appropriate information, engaging color photos, maps and a glossary. This reference book - better suited to the classroom or school library - includes a chapter on conservation."

Nights of the Pufflings

Bruce McMillan

1997

A photo-essay about the children of an Icelandic community who band together every summer in order to save stranded puffin chicks from predators.

Partnerships in Birds: The Ecology of Monogamy

Editor: Jeffrey M. Black

1996

"Some birds mate for life, while others have many partners. Why? In this book, fourteen classic studies of bird behaviour are brought together to compare the different partnership patterns from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Often there is a battle of the sexes, as individual birds behave in the way that serves their best interests. Introductory and concluding chapters review the latest thinking on this fascinating subject."

Contents: Initial Perspectives; Introduction: pair bonds and partnerships; The battle of the sexes and the origins of monogamy; The model family; Continuous Partnerships; Long-term monogamy in a river specialist - the Blue Duck; Do Barnacle Geese benefit from life-long monogamy?; Mate fidelity in swans; Breeding partnrship in two New World jays; Partnerships in promiscuous Splendid Fairy-wrens; Part-Time Partnerships; Divorce in the European Blackbird; Mate fidelity and divorce in ptarmigan; Causes and consequences of long-term partnerships in Cassin's Auklets; Monogamy in a long-lived seabird: the Short-tailed Shearwaters; Between and within-population variation in mate fidelity in the Great Tit; Monogamy in the Sparrowhawk; Mate fidelity in penguins; Causes and consequences of mate fidelity in Red-billed Gulls; Dispersal, demography, and the persistence of partnerships in Indigo Buntings; Concluding Perspectives; Monogamy and sperm competition in birds; Mate fidelity and divorce in monogamous birds.

The Puffin

David Boag and Mike Alexander

1995 (1st ed 1986)

A detailed study of Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica). This book examines the puffin's feeding, breeding and travelling habits, and courtship and social behaviour. Also provides information on breeding colonies and on the dangers puffins face from predators, including human activity. Includes over 70 colour photographs.

Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet

Editor: C. John Ralph, George L. Hunt, Jr., Martin G. Raphael, and John F. Piatt

1995

Main sections are: nesting ecology, biology, and behavior; terrestrial environment 1 - inland patterns of activity; terrestrial environment 2 - inland habitat use and requirements; the marine environment 1 - marine setting; the marine environment 2 - foraging biology; the marine environment 3 - distribution, abundance, and habitat use in the marine environment; trends and status of population.

A Passion for Puffins

W.R. Mitchell

Castleberg

1994

Penguins, Puffins, and Auks: Their Lives and Behavior : A Photographic Study of the North American and Antarctic Species

William Ashworth

Crown Pub

1993

"A large-format, magnificently illustrated nature book devoted to the black-and-white birds that fly in water and walk like people. With vivid photographs, Art Wolfe portrays penguins, auks, and puffins in their native habitats. William Ashworth's enlightening text points out the similarities and differences between penguins and auks. Full-color photographs." From inside flap.

Puffins

Kenny Taylor

1993

A general introduction to the natural history of puffins, describing their habits and habitat, and explaining issues related to conservation. Includes color photographs on every page, and a list of puffin facts and distribution maps for three kinds of puffins.

The Ancient Murrelet: Natural History in the Queen Charlotte Islands

Anthony J. Gaston

Poyser

1992

A study of the Ancient Murrelet which breeds along the northern Pacific coast from British Columbia to Japan. Tony Gaston has carried out the only detailed study of the birds, and his work has revealed the complex social behaviour of the males and the species' response to the variety of predators they face, from Peregrines to Deer Mice.

Skomer Guillemot Studies

T. R Birkhead

1992

A short report.

Status and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet in North America

Editor: Harry R. Carter and Michael L. Morrison

Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology

1992

Proceedings of a symposium held on 16-20 December, 1987 in Pacific Grove, California.

The Puffins Are Back!

Gail Gibbons

1991

"Scientists observe a puffin colony as the colorful birds return to spring nesting sites on an isolated island in Maine. The direct and simple writing style points out the uniqueness of these seabirds: their bright beaks during breeding season; the burrows that serve as nests for single eggs; the annual return to their birthplaces to hatch new chicks. Also included is basic information about the common puffin and the part National Audubon Society scientists have played since 1969 in its survival. Bright, full-page watercolors of the colony reflect island topography and surrounding seascapes. Smaller illustrations capture the birds' expressive profiles as though recorded in close-up snapshots. "

Auks at Sea

Editor: Spencer G. Sealy

Cooper Square Pub

1990

The papers collected in the publication are;

• Auks at sea: prospects for future research, Spencer G. Sealy
• The influence of hydrographic structure and prey abundance on foraging of Least Auklets, George L. Hunt, Jr., Nancy M. Harrison, and R. Ted Cooney
• Alcid patchiness and flight direction near a colony in eastern Newfoundland, David C. Schneider, Raymond Pierotti, and William Threlfall
• The aggregative response of Common Murres and Atlantic Puffins to schools of capelin, John F. Piatt
• Hot spots in cold water: feeding habitat selection by Thick-billed Murres, David K. Cairns and David C. Schneider
• Seabird diet at a front near the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, David C. Schneider, Nancy M. Harrison, and George L. Hunt, Jr.
• Winter observations of Black Guillemots in Hudson Bay and Davis Strait, Anthony J. Gaston and Peter L. McLaren
• Flexible time budgets in breeding Common Murres: buffers against variable prey abundance, Alan E. Burger and John F. Piatt
• Energy expenditures, activity budgets, and prey harvest of breeding Common Murres, David K. Cairns, William A. Montevecchi, Victoria L. Birt-Friesen, and Stephen A. Macko
• Daily foraging behavior of Marbled Murrelets, Harry R. Carter and Spencer G. Sealy
• Offshore distributional patterns, feeding habits, and adult-chick interactions of the Common Murre in Oregon, J. Michael Scott
• Movements of Ancient Murrelet broods away from a colony, David C. Duncan and Anthony J. Gaston
• Gelatinous zooplankton in the diet of the Parakeet Auklet: comparisons with other auklets, Nancy M. Harrison
• The winter diet of Thick-billed Murres in coastal Newfoundland waters, Richard D. Elliot, Pierre C. Ryan, and Wayne W. Lidster
• Physical and biological determinants of the abundance, distribution, and diet of the Common Murre in Monterey Bay, California, Donald A. Croll
• Decline of the Common Murre in Central California, 1980-1986, Jean E. Takekawa, Harry R. Carter, and Thomas E. Harvey
• Numbers of seabirds killed or debilitated in the 1986 Apex Houston oil spill in Central California, Gary W. Page, Harry R. Carter, and R. Glenn Ford
• Differential responses of Common and Thick-Billed Murres to a crash in the capelin stock in the southern Barents Sea, W. Vader, R. T. Barrett, K. E. Erikstad and K.-B. Strann

Puffins

Roy Dennis

1990

"A short study of Puffins with colour photographs and a drawing by Keith Brockie."

Diving Birds of North America

Paul A. Johnsgard

1987

A comparative study that examines the anatomy, ecology, and behaviour of three groups of diving birds; 4 loons, 6 grebes, and 21 auks, of North America. The species accounts are accompanied by 32 colour plates, 28 maps and other drawings and illustrations. Appendices include identification keys, head profile drawings of all species, lists of major auk colonies in North America, and lists of the status of grebes at major US refuges. An extensive bibliography is also included.

Auks: An Ornithologist's Guide

Ron Freethy

1987

A comprehensive study of the auk family. The text is illustrated with maps, drawings and both black & white and colour photographs.

Atlantic Alcidae: The Evolution, Distribution and Biology of the Auks Inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean and Adjacent Water Areas

Tim R. Birkhead

1985

A study of the ecology, biology and conservation of all the species of auk of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Puffin

Jim Flegg

1985

The Puffin

M.P. Harris

Poyser

1984

A monograph on Fratercula arctica, the Atlantic or Common Puffin. Contents are: The auks; The morphology of the Puffin; Distribution in Britain and Ireland; Monitoring of Puffin numbers; The Puffin outside Britain and Ireland; Breeding biology; Behavior; Puffins at colonies; Food and feeding; Growth of young; Predators, pirates and competitors; Man and Puffins; Migration, survival and winter at sea; and Factors influencing the numbers of Puffins. Includes drawings by Keith Brockie, 24 pages of photographs, distribution maps and other diagrams.

The Thick-Billed Murres Of Prince Leopold Island: A Study Of The Breeding Ecology Of A Colonial High Arctic Seabird

A.J. Gaston and D.N. Nettleship

Canadian Wildlife Service

1981

Puffin, Bird of the Open Seas

Lynne Martin

William Morrow & Co

1976

"Drawing from observations of seabird experts, this attractive nature study gives the reader a clear, concise account of what scientists have learned about puffin behaviour. Beginning with a discussion of the seabird's rigorous existence on the rough seas of its North Atlantic home; Lynne Martin traces the common puffin's life cycle from courtship and mating to nesting and the maiden flight of the fledgling made alone in the dark of night. She concludes by pointing out the ever-increasing threats that the puffin faces in the future. Strikingly handsome black-and-white wash drawings by an artist who is also a seabird enthusiast complement the informative text."

The Murres

Leslie M. Tuck

1960

Puffins

R.M. Lockley

1953

A year in the life of a pair of Puffins and their chick. Includes a colour frontispiece by Tunnicliffe, 16 pages of photographs and other sketches.

Catalogue Of The Plataleae, Herodiones, Steganopodes, Pygopodes, Alcae and Impennes In The Collection Of The British Museum

Plataleae and Herodiones: R. Bowdler Sharpe

Steganopodes, Pygopodes, Alcae, Impennes: W.R. Ogilvie-Grant

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Sold by: Longman & Co.; B. Quaritch; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.; and at the British Museum (Natural History)

1898

From the preface:

"The present volume, though not numerically the last, has been, owing to various delays in its production, the last to appear. Its publication completes the series, as originally projected by Dr. Gunther more than twenty-five years ago. The whole work consists of twenty-seven volumes, and it may fairly claim to be one of the most important aids to the study of Systematic Ornithology which has ever been produced. The first volume appeared in June 1874. The others have followed at intervals averaging rather less than a year. The publication of the work has therefore been very nearly coincident with Dr. Gunther's administration of the Zoological Department of the Museum. It is to him that the general arrangement and supervision of the work is due, although each contributor has been allowed a considerable latitude in following his own views as to the details of classification and nomenclature."