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Little Auk

Little Auk

Alle alle

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The Little Auk, called the Dovekie in North America, is the smallest Atlantic auk and the only member of its genus. It breeds in vast, dense colonies on boulder slopes of High Arctic islands and spends the non-breeding season on cold northern seas, many birds wintering near the edge of the pack ice. Storms sometimes drive large numbers far south of their usual range.

Did you know?

  • Its scientific name, Alle alle, comes from a Sami word for the Long-tailed Duck – reflecting an early mix-up by Linnaeus.
  • In Greenland, the traditional Inuit dish kiviaq is made by fermenting hundreds of Little Auks inside a sealed sealskin.

About the species

Identification

A very small, stubby-billed black-and-white auk, about half the size of a Puffin (19–21 cm, wingspan 34–38 cm). Non-breeding birds have a white face and throat, while breeding birds have an all-dark head and throat. Its tiny size separates it from all other auks.

Family

Alcidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

black, white

About the habitat

Breeds on High Arctic islands in boulder fields and scree on coastal slopes. Outside the breeding season it occurs over cold, productive offshore waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, especially near the pack-ice edge.

Diet

Mainly tiny marine crustaceans, especially copepods, captured underwater by visually guided suction; also other small invertebrates and occasionally small fish.

Behaviour

Highly gregarious. A fast, direct flier with whirring wingbeats that dives and swims underwater with its wings. It breeds in huge colonies on scree slopes, nesting deep in rock crevices; pairs are monogamous, faithful to their nest site and raise a single chick, which often fledges at night together with its neighbours. Noisy with twitters and cackles at colonies but mostly quiet at sea.

Sources

Photo: Ma-ludw, https://ludwig-photography.ch, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krabbentaucher Sommer 2023.jpg

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_auk

See also