The little auk or dovekie (Alle alle) is a small auk, the only member of the genusAlle. Alle is the Sami name of the long-tailed duck; it is onomatopoeic and imitates the call of the drake duck. Linnaeus was not particularly familiar with the winter plumages of either the auk or the duck, and appears to have confused the two species.[3] Other common names include rotch, rotche,[4] and sea dove, although this last sometimes refers to a different auk, the black guillemot, instead.[5]
This is the only Atlantic auk of its size, half the size of the Atlantic puffin at 19–21 cm (7.5–8.3 in) in length, with a 34–38 cm (13–15 in) wingspan. The dovekie's weight ranges from 130 to 200 g (4.7 to 7.2 oz).[7] Adult birds are black on the head, neck, back and wings, with white underparts. The bill is very short and stubby. They have a small rounded black tail. The lower face and fore neck become white in winter.
The flight is direct, with fast whirring wing beats due to the short wings. These birds forage for food like other auks by swimming underwater. They mainly eat crustaceans, especially copepods, of which a 150 g (5.3 oz) bird requires ~60,000 individuals per day (equivalent to 30 g [1.1 oz] of dry food weight),[8] but they can also eat small invertebrates and fish. Recent evidence suggests that the little auk feeds not by filter-feeding, but by visually guided suction-feeding.[9] They feed closer to the shoreline during nesting season, but when not nesting they scavenge for food in the open-ocean.
Little auks produce a variety of twitters and cackling calls at the breeding colonies, but are silent at sea.[citation needed]
Little auk swimming and diving.
Little auk in winter plumage
EcologyEdit
Little auks breed in large colonies on marine cliffsides. They nest in crevices or beneath large rocks, usually laying just a single egg. They move south in winter into northern areas of the north Atlantic. Late autumn storms may carry them south of their normal wintering areas, or into the North Sea. The species is also commonly found in the Norwegian Sea.[10]
Although populations appear to be decreasing, this is not currently thought to be rapid enough to be of concern for the species in the medium term, especially as global little auk numbers are generally rather fluid.[1] Little auks have been shown to be able to buffer fluctuations in prey availability, caused by climate change, via plasticity in their foraging behavior, which is likely to make accurate conservation assessments more difficult.[12]
As human foodEdit
Kiviaq is an Inuit dish from Greenland. It is made by stuffing a seal skin with 300 to 500 little auks. Once full and airtight, the skin is sealed with seal fat and the little auks are left to ferment for 3 to 18 months under a pile of rocks. Caught in spring, little auks are a human food resource in winter.[13]
On the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada the Little Auk was known locally as the Bull(y) Bird or Ice Bird. The birds were stuffed with savoury dressing and oven-baked. It was a food of last resort to prevent winter starvation amongst the fisher people of Newfoundland’s outports prior to Canada’s Confederation in 1949. Shot with BB pellets on ice pans off Newfoundland’s south coast, a feed would consist of 5–6 birds per person. They were hunted as long as the ice pans remained in the vicinity. Their flesh is dark and lean.
^ abBirdLife International (2018). "Alle alle". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22694837A131932114. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694837A131932114.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds) (2020). "IOC World Bird List". v10.2. doi:10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
^Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 42. ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
^"Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary s. v. 'rotch'". Retrieved September 6, 2020.
^"Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary s. v. 'sea dove'". Retrieved September 6, 2020.
^Halpin, Luke R; Willie, Megan MC (2014-01-01). "First Record of Dovekie in British Columbia". Northwestern Naturalist. 95 (1): 56–60. doi:10.1898/NWN13-21.1. ISSN 1051-1733.
^"Dovekie Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
^Harding, A. M. A.; Egevang, C.; Walkusz, W.; Merkel, F.; Blanc, S.; Grémillet, D. (2009). "Estimating prey capture rates of a planktivorous seabird, the little auk (Alle alle), using diet, diving behaviour, and energy consumption". Polar Biology. 32 (5): 785–796. doi:10.1007/s00300-009-0581-x.
^Enstipp, Manfred R.; Descamps, Sébastien; Fort, Jérôme; Grémillet, David (2018-07-01). "Almost like a whale – first evidence of suction feeding in a seabird". Journal of Experimental Biology. 221 (13): jeb182170. doi:10.1242/jeb.182170. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 29844199.
^C.Michael Hogan (2011). "Norwegian Sea". In P.Saundry; C.J.Cleveland (eds.). Encyclopedia of Earth. Washington DC: National Council for Science and the Environment.
^Isaksen, K.; Gavrilo, M. V. (2000). "Little Auk Alle alle". In Anker-Nilssen, T.; Bakken, V.; Strøm, H.; Golovkin, A. N.; Bianki, V. V.; Tatarinkova, I. P. (eds.). The Status of Marine Birds Breeding in the Barents Sea Region. Norsk Polarinstitutt Rapportserie. Vol. 113. Tromsø: Norwegian Polar Institute. pp. 131–136. ISBN9788276661767.
^David Grémillet; et al. (2012). "Little auks buffer the impact of current Arctic climate change". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 454: 197–206. doi:10.3354/meps09590.
^Freuchen, Dagmar (1960). Peter Freuchen's Adventures in the Arctic. New York: Messner. p. 81.
little, little, dovekie, alle, alle, small, only, member, genus, alle, alle, sami, name, long, tailed, duck, onomatopoeic, imitates, call, drake, duck, linnaeus, particularly, familiar, with, winter, plumages, either, duck, appears, have, confused, species, ot. The little auk or dovekie Alle alle is a small auk the only member of the genus Alle Alle is the Sami name of the long tailed duck it is onomatopoeic and imitates the call of the drake duck Linnaeus was not particularly familiar with the winter plumages of either the auk or the duck and appears to have confused the two species 3 Other common names include rotch rotche 4 and sea dove although this last sometimes refers to a different auk the black guillemot instead 5 Little aukConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder CharadriiformesFamily AlcidaeGenus AlleLink 1806Species A alleBinomial nameAlle alle Linnaeus 1758 Subspecies 2 A a alle Linnaeus 1758 A a polaris Stenhouse 1930Global map of eBird reports Year round range Summer range Winter rangeSynonymsAlca alle Linnaeus 1758It breeds on islands in the high Arctic There are two subspecies A a alle breeds in Greenland Novaya Zemlya and Svalbard and A a polaris on Franz Josef Land A small number of individuals breed on Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait with additional breeding individuals thought to occur on King Island St Lawrence Island St Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea 6 Contents 1 Morphology and behaviour 2 Ecology 3 Conservation 4 As human food 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksMorphology and behaviour EditThis is the only Atlantic auk of its size half the size of the Atlantic puffin at 19 21 cm 7 5 8 3 in in length with a 34 38 cm 13 15 in wingspan The dovekie s weight ranges from 130 to 200 g 4 7 to 7 2 oz 7 Adult birds are black on the head neck back and wings with white underparts The bill is very short and stubby They have a small rounded black tail The lower face and fore neck become white in winter The flight is direct with fast whirring wing beats due to the short wings These birds forage for food like other auks by swimming underwater They mainly eat crustaceans especially copepods of which a 150 g 5 3 oz bird requires 60 000 individuals per day equivalent to 30 g 1 1 oz of dry food weight 8 but they can also eat small invertebrates and fish Recent evidence suggests that the little auk feeds not by filter feeding but by visually guided suction feeding 9 They feed closer to the shoreline during nesting season but when not nesting they scavenge for food in the open ocean Little auks produce a variety of twitters and cackling calls at the breeding colonies but are silent at sea citation needed source source source source source source source source source source Little auk swimming and diving Little auk in winter plumageEcology EditLittle auks breed in large colonies on marine cliffsides They nest in crevices or beneath large rocks usually laying just a single egg They move south in winter into northern areas of the north Atlantic Late autumn storms may carry them south of their normal wintering areas or into the North Sea The species is also commonly found in the Norwegian Sea 10 The glaucous gull and the Arctic fox are the main predators on little auks In some cases the polar bear has also been reported to feed on little auk eggs 11 Conservation EditAlthough populations appear to be decreasing this is not currently thought to be rapid enough to be of concern for the species in the medium term especially as global little auk numbers are generally rather fluid 1 Little auks have been shown to be able to buffer fluctuations in prey availability caused by climate change via plasticity in their foraging behavior which is likely to make accurate conservation assessments more difficult 12 As human food EditKiviaq is an Inuit dish from Greenland It is made by stuffing a seal skin with 300 to 500 little auks Once full and airtight the skin is sealed with seal fat and the little auks are left to ferment for 3 to 18 months under a pile of rocks Caught in spring little auks are a human food resource in winter 13 Knud Rasmussen s death is attributed to food poisoning by kiviaq 14 15 On the south coast of Newfoundland Canada the Little Auk was known locally as the Bull y Bird or Ice Bird The birds were stuffed with savoury dressing and oven baked It was a food of last resort to prevent winter starvation amongst the fisher people of Newfoundland s outports prior to Canada s Confederation in 1949 Shot with BB pellets on ice pans off Newfoundland s south coast a feed would consist of 5 6 birds per person They were hunted as long as the ice pans remained in the vicinity Their flesh is dark and lean 16 unreliable source See also EditGreat aukReferences Edit a b BirdLife International 2018 Alle alle IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018 e T22694837A131932114 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2018 2 RLTS T22694837A131932114 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Gill F D Donsker amp P Rasmussen Eds 2020 IOC World Bird List v10 2 doi 10 14344 IOC ML 10 2 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help CS1 maint uses authors parameter link Jobling James A 2010 The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names London Christopher Helm p 42 ISBN 978 1 4081 2501 4 Merriam Webster com Dictionary s v rotch Retrieved September 6 2020 Merriam Webster com Dictionary s v sea dove Retrieved September 6 2020 Halpin Luke R Willie Megan MC 2014 01 01 First Record of Dovekie in British Columbia Northwestern Naturalist 95 1 56 60 doi 10 1898 NWN13 21 1 ISSN 1051 1733 Dovekie Identification All About Birds Cornell Lab of Ornithology www allaboutbirds org Retrieved 2020 09 30 Harding A M A Egevang C Walkusz W Merkel F Blanc S Gremillet D 2009 Estimating prey capture rates of a planktivorous seabird the little auk Alle alle using diet diving behaviour and energy consumption Polar Biology 32 5 785 796 doi 10 1007 s00300 009 0581 x Enstipp Manfred R Descamps Sebastien Fort Jerome Gremillet David 2018 07 01 Almost like a whale first evidence of suction feeding in a seabird Journal of Experimental Biology 221 13 jeb182170 doi 10 1242 jeb 182170 ISSN 0022 0949 PMID 29844199 C Michael Hogan 2011 Norwegian Sea In P Saundry C J Cleveland eds Encyclopedia of Earth Washington DC National Council for Science and the Environment Isaksen K Gavrilo M V 2000 Little Auk Alle alle In Anker Nilssen T Bakken V Strom H Golovkin A N Bianki V V Tatarinkova I P eds The Status of Marine Birds Breeding in the Barents Sea Region Norsk Polarinstitutt Rapportserie Vol 113 Tromso Norwegian Polar Institute pp 131 136 ISBN 9788276661767 David Gremillet et al 2012 Little auks buffer the impact of current Arctic climate change Marine Ecology Progress Series 454 197 206 doi 10 3354 meps09590 Freuchen Dagmar 1960 Peter Freuchen s Adventures in the Arctic New York Messner p 81 Eating Narwhal Smithsonian Magazine 2009 04 23 Retrieved 2022 10 19 Diski Gretel 2002 02 16 Review This Cold Heaven Seven Seasons in Greenland by Gretel Ehrlich The Guardian Retrieved 2022 10 19 Credit to the ancestral local knowledge of Shirley Cooper and family residents of Pushthrough NL from the late 1800s until resettlement in 1968 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alle alle Wikispecies has information related to Alle alle Alle alle Integrated Taxonomic Information System Retrieved 24 February 2009 Feathers of Little Auk Alle alle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Little auk amp oldid 1170067622, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
