Black Guillemot Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBlack Guillemot
Breeding adult
Medium-sized black-and-white seabird with a thin and sharp bill. Note red legs.
© Holly Merker / Macaulay LibraryMaine, June 22, 2017Nonbreeding adult/immature
Nonbreeding birds have whitish heads and underparts.
© Fyn Kynd / Macaulay LibraryMaine, November 08, 2020Breeding adults
Forages by diving, using its wings to propel itself underwater. Catches fish, worms, and other prey from near the bottom.
© DAVID BROWN / Macaulay LibraryNunavut, June 10, 2005Not all videos have sound
Nonbreeding adult/immature
Nonbreeding birds in the high arctic (mandtii subspecies) are whiter overall than nonbreeding birds in the Atlantic.
© Jeremiah Trimble / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, January 18, 2020Breeding adult
Potbellied black seabird with white underwings bordered in black.
© Louis Bevier / Macaulay LibraryMaine, July 17, 2017Breeding adult
Black seabird with white wing patches and bright red legs and feet. Forages in waters close to shore.
© Heidi Krajewsky / Macaulay LibrarySvalbard, July 08, 2017Similar SpeciesPigeon Guillemot
Nonbreeding
Nonbreeding Pigeon Guillemots look similar to nonbreeding Black Guillemots but they only overlap in the Bering Sea. Separated by dark underwing linings on Pigeon but not Black Guillemots.
© Carl Giometti 🍹 / Macaulay LibraryWashington, September 07, 2016Similar SpeciesPigeon Guillemot
Breeding adult
Pigeon Guillemots, which overlap in distribution only in the Bering Sea, are very similar, but has gray underwing linings and a broad black wedge across each white wing patch.
© Ken Oeser / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 19, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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