Birds
Razorbill
Alca torda · also called razorbills
A razorbill folds its wings tight and plunges beneath the cold North Atlantic surface, using those same wings to swim in pursuit of a school of sand eels far below. On the cliffs above, it is the closest living echo of a bird that can no longer do any of this at all: the extinct great auk.
Overview
The razorbill, Alca torda, is a diving seabird native to coastal and open ocean waters across the North Atlantic. Its deep, blade-like bill and close evolutionary relationship to the extinct great auk make it one of the more historically significant living auk species.
What the great auk left behind
Where the flightless great auk vanished entirely by the mid-1800s, the razorbill survives as its nearest living relative, still carrying much of the same striking black-and-white pattern and bill shape, but with the flight the great auk had already lost.
Status
Least Concern — widespread across suitable breeding cliff habitat throughout the North Atlantic, though closely monitored given its reliance on a relatively small number of dense colony sites.
Razorbill: common questions
Is the razorbill related to the extinct great auk?
Yes, the razorbill is considered the closest living relative of the extinct great auk, sharing a similar black-and-white plumage pattern and a broadly similar deep, laterally flattened bill shape, though unlike the flightless great auk, the razorbill has retained the ability to fly.
Why is it called a razorbill?
A razorbill has a notably deep, laterally flattened bill marked with a pale vertical band, a distinctive blade-like shape that directly inspired the species' common name and helps distinguish it from other closely related auk species found in the same North Atlantic waters.
How deep can a razorbill dive?
A razorbill is capable of diving to considerable depth beneath the ocean surface, using its wings to propel itself underwater in pursuit of schooling fish such as sand eels and herring, a swimming technique shared with several other diving auk species in its family.
Where does the razorbill breed?
Razorbills typically breed in dense colonies on rocky sea cliffs and coastal ledges across the North Atlantic, including sites in the northeastern United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Europe, laying a single egg directly onto bare rock rather than constructing an actual nest.