The crested auklet (Aethia cristatella) is a small seabird of the family Alcidae, distributed throughout the northern Pacific and the Bering Sea. The species feeds by diving in deep waters, eating krill and a variety of small marine animals. It nests in dense colonies of up to 1 million individuals in the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. It often breeds in mixed-species colonies with the least auklet, a smaller congener.
The species is known for its sexual ornaments, found in both males and females. These include colorful plumage with a forehead crest, a striking scent recalling citrus fruit, and a loud trumpet call, all of which appear to have evolved through sexual selection. The total population is around 6 million, almost half in North America. It is in general considered to be of least concern, though the Alaskan population faces additional threats from predation and oil spills.
^BirdLife International (2020). "Aethia cristatella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22694915A131877037. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22694915A131877037.en. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
The crestedauklet (Aethia cristatella) is a small seabird of the family Alcidae, distributed throughout the northern Pacific and the Bering Sea. The species...
placed in the genus Aethia, making them closely related to crestedauklets and least auklets. It is associated with the boreal waters of Alaska, Kamchatka...
An odd characteristic of this bird, which is also shared with the crestedauklet, is that its plumage smells of citrus. Fishing boats pose a huge threat...
least and crestedauklet colony near Sugarloaf Head is one of the largest among the nine auklet colonies in the Aleutian Islands. Crestedauklets and least...
island is a nesting site for seabirds — most notably the least and crestedauklet — which prompt egg-collecting visits from local indigenous peoples....
protection from predators, least auklets are vulnerable to being displaced from their nesting sites by the larger crestedauklets. A single egg is laid in the...
year, unless they lose the first (with a few exceptions, like the Cassin's auklet), and many species (like the tubenoses and sulids) will only lay one egg...
million, although least and crestedauklets tend to nest in greater density than parakeet and whiskered auklets. The auklets are mainly planktivores, eating...
includes the guillemots, typical auks, murrelets, auklets, puffins, and the razorbill. The rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) and the puffins are closely...
oystercatcher Crestedauklet Parakeet auklet Least auklet Whiskered auklet Little auk Spectacled guillemot Pigeon guillemot Black guillemot Rhinoceros auklet Tufted...
The tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata), also known as crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family (Alcidae)...
is seen in crestedauklets, where parents share equal responsibility in incubating their single egg and raising the chick. In crestedauklets, both sexes...
sea lions, seabirds, and other sea island fauna. Large colonies of crestedauklets use the Sea of Okhotsk as a nesting site. The Okhotsk culture and the...
autumn equinox than at the summer solstice. In the spring and summer crestedauklet, tufted puffin, and pigeon guillemot nest on the island; there is also...
The island also supports a population of brown bears. In the spring crestedauklet nest on the island. The straits between Paramushir and Shumshu island...
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