Razorbill

Description:

The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed crevices. Both parents will spend equal amount of time incubating. Once the chick has hatched, the parents will take turns foraging for their young and will sometimes fly long distances before finding prey. The razorbill is primarily black with a white underside. The male and female razorbills are identical in plumage however males are generally larger than females.

Habitat:

The world population of razorbills is estimated at about 500,000 to 700,000 breeding pairs. Razorbills thrive in water surface temperature below 15°C. These birds are distributed across sub-arctic and boreal waters of the Atlantic. Their breeding habitat is islands, rocky shores and cliffs on northern Atlantic coasts, in eastern North America as far south as Maine, and in western Europe from northwestern Russia to northern France. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of the entire razorbill population breeds in Iceland. At Latrabjarg cliff only, where this photo is taken, are estimated to be 230.000 razorbill pairs, about 40% of the global population.