Pigeon Guillemot

Pigeon Guillemot
Pigeon Guillemot
Pigeon Guillemots, Vancouver, BC
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Alcidae
Genus: Cepphus
Species: C. columba
Binomial name
Cepphus columba
(Pallas, 1811)

The Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba) is a medium-sized alcid endemic to the Pacific. They closely resemble the other members of the genus Cepphus, particularly the Black Guillemot, which is slightly smaller.

Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch broken by a black wedge, a thin dark bill and red legs and feet. They are similar in appearance to the Black Guillemot but show dark wing linings in flight. In winter, the upper parts are mottled grey and black and the underparts are white. They walk well and habitually have an upright posture.

Pigeon Guillemot at sea

Their breeding habitat is rocky shores, cliffs and islands on northern often forming small loose colonies. They usually lay their eggs in rocky cavities near water, but will often nest in any available cavity including caves, disused burrows of other seabirds and even old bomb casings. Unlike many alcids, Pigeon Guillemots are diurnal and lay two eggs. Because they can feed their chicks constantly throughout the day, the chicks fledge faster than equivalent sized auks that are only provisioned at night.

A Pigeon Guillemot emerging from its nest (the hole in the cliff).

Pigeon Guillemots range across the Northern Pacific from the Kuril Islands and the Kamchatka Peninsula in Siberia to coasts in western North America from Alaska to California. After the breeding season birds in Alaska migrate south to open waters, whereas some birds from California move north to the waters off British Columbia. Birds usually return to their natal colony to breed.

They dive for food from the surface, swimming underwater, feeding on benthic prey, which is usually obtained close to shore. They mainly eat fish and other aquatic animals, particularly sculpins, sandfish (Trichodon), cods, capelin, and crabs. Chick diet varies slightly, with more fish than invertebrates, particularly rockfish.

Gallery

References

  • BirdLife International (2004). Cepphus columba. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  • Artyukhin, Yu.B. and V.N. Burkanov (1999). Sea birds and marine mammals of the Russian Far East: a Field Guide, Мoscow: АSТ Publishing – 215 p. (Russian)
  • Gaston, A. and I. Jones, Ian, (1998), The Auks, Alcidae, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-854032-9.
  • Ewins, P. J. (1993). Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba). In The Birds of North America, No. 49 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • pigeon guillemot — noun northern Pacific guillemot • Syn: ↑Cepphus columba • Hypernyms: ↑guillemot * * * noun : a guillemot (Cepphus columba) of the north Pacific * * * pigeon guillemot, = sea pigeon. (Cf. ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • pigeon guillemot — Ramiojo vandenyno taistė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Cepphus columba angl. pigeon guillemot vok. Taubenteiste, f rus. тихоокеанский чистик, m pranc. guillemot colombin, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – taistės …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • pigeon guillemot. — See under guillemot (def. 1). * * * …   Universalium

  • pigeon guillemot. — See under guillemot (def. 1) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Guillemot — is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family, comprising two genera: Uria and Cepphus . This word of French origin apparently derives from a form of the name William, cf. the cy. Gwillim or the fr. Guillaume. [ Guillemot, n …   Wikipedia

  • guillemot — /gil euh mot /, n. 1. a black or brown speckled seabird of the genus Cepphus, of northern seas, having a sharply pointed black bill, red legs, and white wing patches, as C. grylle (black guillemot), of the North Atlantic and the similar C.… …   Universalium

  • guillemot colombin — Ramiojo vandenyno taistė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Cepphus columba angl. pigeon guillemot vok. Taubenteiste, f rus. тихоокеанский чистик, m pranc. guillemot colombin, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – taistės …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • Guillemot — Guil le*mot , n. [F.] (Zo[ o]l.) One of several northern sea birds, allied to the auks. They have short legs, placed far back, and are expert divers and swimmers. [1913 Webster] Note: The common guillemots, or murres, belong to the genus {Uria}… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sea pigeon — noun 1. : a small guillemot of the genus Cepphus : black guillemot, pigeon guillemot 2. chiefly Scotland : rock pigeon * * * sea pigeon, a black guillemot having the size of a small duck and a plump, dovelike appearance; …   Useful english dictionary

  • Spectacled Guillemot — Conservation status Least Concern ( …   Wikipedia

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