Razorbill

Overview

Razorbill: Large seabird with black head, neck, upperparts, white line from bill to eye, and white underparts. Large, wedge-shaped bill is black with a central, thin white band. Black legs and feet. Feeds on fish, marine worms, squid and crustaceans. Swift low direct flight.

Range and Habitat

Razorbill: Breeds in coastal sites from Spitsbergen, through Scandinavia to Iceland, Britain, and northwest France. Spends winters as far south as Spain and Morocco; also found in Greenland and the east coast of North America south to Maine. Frequents coastal and oceanic waters; breeds on coastal cliffs and rock stacks in the summer.

INTERESTING FACTS

Razorbills, guillemots and puffins do not compete directly for food because guillemots catch large fish, which they carry singly; puffins catch small fish and razorbills catch medium-sized fish.
Their chicks cannot fly when they leave the colony, so the breeding site must give immediate access to the sea.
A group of razorbills are collectively known as an "edge" and a "strop" of razorbills.
Razorbills are exclusively an Atlantic species, with no counterpart in the Pacific.

The Razorbill has a large range, estimated globally at 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 square kilometers. Native to Europe and North America, this bird prefers neritic, oceanic, coastal, or tidal ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 1,500,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Razorbill is Least Concern.