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MarineCavity nestLarge · 530 g
What the Pigeon Guillemot sounds like
ID tip
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Pigeon Guillemot
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 9 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is August, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Pigeon Guillemot
The map shades 4 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Mexico.
About the Pigeon Guillemot
The pigeon guillemot is a species of bird in the auk family, Alcidae. One of three species in the genus Cepphus, it is most closely related to the spectacled guillemot. There are five subspecies of the pigeon guillemot; all subspecies, when in breeding plumage, are dark brown with a black iridescent sheen and a distinctive wing patch broken by a brown-black wedge. Its non-breeding plumage has mottled grey and black upperparts and white underparts. The long bill is black, as are the claws. The legs, feet, and inside of the mouth are red. It closely resembles the black guillemot, which is slightly smaller and lacks the dark wing wedge present in the pigeon guillemot.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Black GuillemotCepphus grylleThe black guillemot is a medium-sized bird with adults normally 30 to 32 centimetres (12 to 12+1⁄2 inches) in length and with wingspans of 52 to 58 cm (20+1⁄2 to 23 in).
Spectacled GuillemotCepphus carboThis species is about 38 cm (15 in) long, with red legs, black bill, and a blackish iris.
Side by side: Black Guillemot vs Pigeon Guillemot · Pigeon Guillemot vs Razorbill
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