Parakeet Auklet

Aethia psittacula (Pallas, 1769)

Parakeet Auklet Aethia psittacula breeds on offshore islands in the north-western to north-eastern North Pacific, from eastern Chukotka, north-eastern Kamchatka, the Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin, the Kuril and Commander Islands, the Bering Sea islands, the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska. Outside the breeding season it is pelagic across the North Pacific, extending to the northern Sea of Japan and western British Columbia. It is a small auk with a short orange bill that curves upwards, giving it a distinctive expression. It nests on cliffs, slopes and boulder fields, and was described by Pallas in 1769.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Alcidae — Auks

Breeding range

Palearctic, North America: nw to ne North Pacific coasts: patchily from e Chukotka, ne Kamchatka, Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin, Kuril and Commander is. (e Russia); Bering Sea is., Aleutian Is., and Gulf of Alaska

Nonbreeding range

pelagic in North Pacific, reaching n Sea of Japan and w British Columbia (sw Canada)