The little auk, also called the dovekie in North America, is a small seabird in the family Alcidae and the only member of the genus Alle, making it the smallest auk found in the Atlantic. It measures 19 to 21 centimeters long with a wingspan of 34 to 38 centimeters, about half the size of the Atlantic puffin. It breeds in huge numbers on islands in the high Arctic of the North Atlantic, including Greenland, Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya, and Franz Josef Land, dispersing widely across the Arctic and North Atlantic in winter as far south as northern Great Britain and Nova Scotia. In breeding plumage it has a black head, neck, back, and wings against pure white underparts and a short stubby bill, and it forages underwater mainly for copepods and other small crustaceans. It is listed as Least Concern. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) System (Realm) Relationship to People Living or Extinct Comparison
NatureServe Rank CITES Appendix Scientific Name Conservation Status Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Alle alle
Tundra, Biomes Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Alle alle
In Ecosystem
Source Little auk (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
2. GBIF Species API
3. Little auk (Wikipedia)
Food and feeding section
These birds forage for food like other auks by swimming underwater. They mainly eat crustaceans, especially copepods, of which a 150 g (5.3 oz) bird requires ~60,000 individuals per day (equivalent to 30 g [1.1 oz] of dry food weight), but they also eat small invertebrates such as mollusks, as well as small fish.
Interaction with humans
The birds were once hunted, stuffed with savoury dressing and oven-baked.
In Ecosystem: Svalbard, Lead
There are two subspecies; A. a. alle breeds in Greenland, Novaya Zemlya and Svalbard; and A. a. polaris on Franz Josef Land.
View the Source4. Little auk (Wikidata)
Wikidata- Wikidata Q26470 (P225 taxon name)
Statements section, conservation status (P141)
IUCN Red List conservation status (Wikidata property P141): least concern.
- Child Taxon Of: Alcidae, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source 5. NatureServe Explorer: Alle alle
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
View the Source 6. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Alle alle
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITES
CITES No special status
In Biome: Tundra, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
In Biome: Open Ocean, Habitat Regions, biome: pelagic
pelagic pelagic
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