Pigeon Guillemot Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesPigeon Guillemot
Breeding adult
Medium-sized seabird with a thin bill. Breeding adults are entirely black with white wing patches.
© Matt Davis / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 23, 2019Nonbreeding adult/immature
Medium-sized seabird with a thin bill. Nonbreeding birds have smudgy black-and-white bodies with variable amounts of white on the head and underparts.
© Carol Riddell / Macaulay LibraryWashington, January 15, 2021Breeding adult
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryWashington, July 01, 1994Breeding adult
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryWashington, July 18, 1994Breeding adult
Black overall with white wing patches bisected by a black bar.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 17, 2012Breeding adult
Black seabird of rocky coastlines with white wing patches.
© Joshua Little / Macaulay LibraryWashington, July 03, 2014Breeding adult
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryWashington, January 01, 1994Breeding adult
Breeding birds have bright red legs and feet.
© Jacob Drucker / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 16, 2016Nonbreeding adult/immature
Nonbreeding birds have smudgy black-and-white bodies with variable amounts of white on the head and underparts. Found more often in sheltered inshore waters in winter.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, August 24, 2004Breeding adult
Found along rocky coastlines between Alaska and California. Nests on the ground in crevices or burrows in rocky cliffs. Forages in near-shore waters.
© Tom Unsicker / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 01, 2016Similar SpeciesMarbled Murrelet
Breeding
Marbled Murrelets are smaller and browner overall than Pigeon Guillemots.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 18, 2012Similar SpeciesMarbled Murrelet
Nonbreeding
Marbled Murrelets are smaller and more compact than Pigeon Guillemots. Nonbreeding birds have a solid black back and cap that Pigeon Guillemots lack.
© Ryan Shaw / Macaulay LibraryWashington, September 17, 2017Similar SpeciesBlack Guillemot
Breeding adult
Black Guillemots, which overlap in distribution only in the Bering Sea, are very similar, but have white (not gray) underwing linings and have pure white wing patches (Pigeons have a black wedge across each wing patch).
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibrarySvalbard, June 09, 2015Similar SpeciesBlack Guillemot
Breeding adult
Black Guillemots, which overlap in distribution only in the Bering Sea, are very similar. Breeding and nonbreeding birds have white underwing linings whereas Pigeon Guillemots have gray underwing linings.
© Louis Bevier / Macaulay LibraryMaine, July 17, 2017Similar SpeciesWhite-winged Scoter
Adult male
White-winged Scoters are much larger and heavier with a broader bill than Pigeon Guillemots.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, July 08, 2017Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Auks, Murres, and Puffins(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Alcidae)
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