Razorbill

Adults have black head, neck, back, and upperwings with contrasting white underparts and a thin white line running from the base of the bill to the eye. In winter, the throat and cheeks become white. Juveniles resemble non-breeding adults but have a smaller, less distinctly marked bill.

Deep, blunt-ended bill with vertical white lines, dark overall upperparts, white underparts, and a sharp white facial stripe extending from bill to eye.

Length: 37-42 cm, Wingspan: 60-69 cm, Weight: 500-750 g

Usually silent at sea, but produces low, deep, growling and croaking notes at the breeding colony.

Mostly small schooling fish such as sand lances, herring, and capelin, as well as crustaceans and marine worms, caught by underwater pursuit diving.

Pelagic marine environments during the non-breeding season; rocky cliffs, coastal islands, and boulder fields during the breeding season.

Migratory; moves south from northern breeding grounds into open Atlantic waters for the winter.

Nests in crevices, under boulders, or in small rock cavities on cliffs rather than open ledges. Lays a single egg directly on the ground. Both parents incubate and feed the chick.

Common Murre, which is slightly larger with a pointier, yellowish bill; Thick-billed Murre, which has a shorter, thicker bill with a white line along the gape.

Acts as an important marine predator controlling fish populations and serves as an indicator species for the health of marine ecosystems.

Near Threatened

Look for them on rocky coastal cliffs and islands during the breeding season, or scan choppy ocean waters from headlands during winter migration.

Razorbills are the closest living relatives of the extinct Great Auk and form monogamous pairs that often reunite at the same nesting site year after year.