EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Crested Auklets on the Rocks

Crested Auklet (Aethia cristatella), Family Alcidae
St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, USA

Explanation:  Sounding like a great pub drink, these indeed are Crested Auklets on the rocks ... here on remote St. Lawrence Island, out in the Bering Sea, west of the mainland coast of Alaska, USA.  

We are in an remarkable seasonal seabird colony along the steep cliffs and boulder-strewn coast of St. Lawrence Island.  The island is home to the Siberian Yup'ik peoples, with just two community towns on the entire island.  This site is just east of the village of Savoonga, which we had visited previously inspecting bones of bowhead whales, horned puffins, and enormous jellyfish. 

An interesting study (Douglas et al. 2021) suggests that the bright orange bills increase the birds' visibility with one another during foggy, misty days.  The bright bills also might help the birds see which dark rocky crevices are already occupied by others of their kind, as they search for nesting niches along these cliffs.  

And/or the bright orange bill could play a role in mate selection, signaling individuals that are adept at catching their marine crustacean prey that is the source of that color.  

Further, Crested Auklets are reported to smell like citrus, although I did not have an opportunity to nuzzle one and confirm this fact.  But why citrus?  Further studies (Douglas 2006, Douglas et al. 2005) suggest that the scent of this bird's plumage may be a deterrent against lice and ticks, although some results are inconclusive.

Congregating on seacliff rocks, these Crested Auklets may be
staging before flying out to sea for another foraging expedition.

The cliffs on this barren shore are home to an amazing amalgam and diversity of seabirds, which we also visited here in a previous sighting of this species' cousin, the Least Auklet.  

  
Information:
     Douglas, H.D., III.  2006.  Measurement of chemical emissions in Crested Auklets (Aethia cristatella).  Journal of Chemical Ecology 32:2559-2567.
     Douglas, H.D., III, I.V. Ermakov, and W. Gellermann.  2021.  Brighter is better: bill fluorescence increases social attraction in a colonial seabird and reveals a potential link with foraging.  Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75: art. no. 144.  
     Douglas, H.D., III, J.R. Malenke, and D.H. Clayton.  2005.  Is the citrus-like plumage odorant of crested auklets (Aethia cristatella) a defense against lice?  Journal of Ornithology 146:111-115.