Cepphus

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Cepphus
Black Guillemot
Black Guillemot
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Alcidae
Genus: Cepphus
Pallas, 1769
species

C. grylle
C. columba
C. carbo

Cepphus is a genus of seabirds in the auk family. These are medium-sized guillemots with mainly black plumage in the breeding season, thin dark bills and red legs and feet. Two species have white wing patches, the third has white facial “spectacles”. They are much paler in winter plumage, mottled above and white below.

The breeding habitat is rocky shores and islands on the coasts of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They usually lay their eggs in rocky sites near water.

These birds may overwinter in their breeding areas, moving to open waters if necessary, but usually not migrating very far south.

They dive for food from the surface, swimming underwater. They mainly eat fish and crustaceans, also some molluscs, insects and plant material.

The species are:

There are also fossil forms

  • Cepphus olsoni (San Luis Rey River Late Miocene - Early Pliocene of W USA)
  • Cepphus cf. columba (Lawrence Canyon Early Pliocene of W USA)
  • Cepphus cf. grylle (San Diego Late Pliocene, W USA)

The latter two resemble the extant species, but because of the considerable distance in time or space from their current occurrence may represent distinct species.

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