Common Guillemot Identification
Its scientific name is 'Uria aalge', from the family Alcidae (order Charadriiformes)
What I look like
The Common Guillemot is larger than the Atlantic Puffin.
It has a brownish upper head and body.
The underside is white with brown-streaked flanks (more or less visible).
In non-breeding plumage, the cheeks and throat are white.
While in breeding season, they are brownish.
Some individuals display a white eye-ring and a white line extending from the eye. This is the "bridled" variety often found further north.
The Common Guillemot has a long, slender, and pointed bill.
It can be confused with the Brünnich's Guillemot, but that species has a shorter and stouter bill, with some white and blackish plumage.
It can be mistaken from a distance for the Razorbill, but the Razorbill has black plumage; up close, its short, thick, and truncated bill is distinguishable.
In flight, the black on the back is more extensive than on the Razorbill. The white is less extensive on the sides and the feet extend beyond the tail.
While on the Razorbill, the feet are hidden under the tail.
My songs, my calls
The Common Guillemot is noisy in colonies.
It emits repeated rolling grunts, rather low-pitched, sometimes resembling the croaks of crows or ravens.
How I behave
The Common Guillemot is often in groups, especially when nesting in colonies or in winter when foraging.
It flies close to the water's surface, with a slightly hunched back. The wings appear to be more forward on the body (more centered on the Razorbill).
It flies with rapid wingbeats, often in groups.
It is a skillful diver. It "flies" underwater and uses its feet as a rudder.
How I reproduce
The Common Guillemot nests in colonies on rocky ledges of cliffs.
It lays a single, pyriform egg (pear-shaped, conical, that cannot roll) adapted to cliff nesting. Thus, it is laid directly on the rock.
The chick, unable to fly, will leap into the void at three weeks.
It will then be escorted to sea by the father.
What I eat
The Common Guillemot primarily feeds on fish and sometimes crustaceans.
Its feet, equipped with a webbed membrane, allow it to swim deeply to find prey.
It fishes by diving in groups into schools of fish.
Unlike the Atlantic Puffin, it can only grasp one fish at a time in its bill.
Where to find me
The Common Guillemot is a pelagic bird (it lives in open sea).
It is found in the Atlantic Ocean up to the southern limit of Portugal.
It comes to the coasts for breeding.
It can live for about thirty-two years.