Razorbill

Alca torda Linnaeus, 1758

Razorbill, Alca torda, breeds on North Atlantic coasts across the low Arctic and northern temperate zone, from Greenland, Iceland and the British Isles to Scandinavia, north-west France and the White Sea, and in North America from north-east Canada to the Gulf of Maine. Outside the breeding season it reaches the Gulf Stream off North Carolina, the Iberian Peninsula and the western Mediterranean Sea. It is a colonial seabird in the auk family and is the only living species in Alca. It is a black-and-white bird with a white underside and a deep bill.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Alcidae — Auks

Breeding range

North America, Palearctic: low Arctic to n temperate North Atlantic coasts: Greenland, Iceland, British Isles to Scandinavia, nw France and the White Sea (nw Russia), ne Canada to Gulf of Maine

Nonbreeding range

to Gulf Stream off North Carolina (w North Atlantic); to Iberian Pen. (e North Atlantic) and w Mediterranean Sea