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Little auk

Birds

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
Diet
Insectivore 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 2
System (Realm)
Marine 2
Relationship to People
Hunted or Fished 3
Living or Extinct
Yes 4
Comparison
NatureServe Rank
G5 Secure 5
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 6
Scientific Name
Alle alle 4
Conservation Status
Least Concern 3
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Alcidae, Taxa
Source Little auk (Wikidata)

In Biome

Open Ocean, Biomes
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

Svalbard, Ecosystems
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
GBIF Species APIView the Source
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 Source
4. 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 Zoology
  • Conservation 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
View the Source
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