Bird Guide

Pigeon Guillemot vs Razorbill

Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba)

Pigeon Guillemot

Cepphus columba

Large530 gMarine

The pigeon guillemot is a medium-sized auk, 30 to 37 cm (12 to 15 in) in length and weighing 450 to 550 g (16 to 19 oz). Both sexes are alike in appearance and mass, except for Californian birds where females were found to have larger bills than males. The summer or breeding plumage of the adult is mostly dark brown with a black sheen, with a white wing patch broken by a brown-black wedge. In winter, the upperparts are iridescent black, often with black fringes giving a scalloped appearance, and the underparts and rump are white.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: steve · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) Mike Baird, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Razorbill (Alca torda)

Razorbill

Alca torda

Large726 gMarine

The razorbill has a white belly and a black head, neck, back, and feet during the breeding season. A thin white line also extends from the eyes to the end of the bill. Its head is darker than that of a common murre. During the non-breeding season, the throat and face behind the eye become white, and the white line on the face and bill becomes less prominent. The bill is black, deep and laterally compressed, with a blunt end. It has several vertical grooves or furrows near the curved tip, one of them adorned with a white, broken vertical line.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Sonothèque ADVL · CC0
Photo: Eirik Røtnes · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Pigeon Guillemot and Razorbill.