Black Guillemot

Black Guillemot
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Alcidae Genus: Cepphus Species: grylle
Binomial name
Cepphus grylle

The Black Guillemot, Cepphus grylle, is a medium-sized alcid.

Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch, a thin dark bill and red legs and feet. They show white wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large white patch on the inner wing.

Their breeding habitat is rocky shores, cliffs and islands on northern Atlantic coasts in eastern North America as far south as Maine and east to western Europe as far south as Ireland. Some birds breed in Alaska where their range overlaps with the Pigeon Guillemot. They usually lay their eggs in rocky sites near water.

These birds often overwinter, migrating to open waters if necessary, usually not travelling very far south.

They dive for food from the surface, swimming underwater. They mainly eat fish and crustaceans, also some mollusks, insects and plant material.

The call in the breeding season is a high whistle. The red gape is also prominent then.