jlh4094
Razorbill (Alca torda)
While walking on Wrightsville beach a few weekends ago I came across this dead bird lying on the shore. Upon the first look I figured that the bird was some sort of seagull species native to North Carolina, but after further investigation I determined that there were no gull species in the area that looked similar to this organism. The bird in the photo has a slight resemblance to a penguin which seems rather strange since I found it in southern North Carolina. After comparing it with many different bird species I found one that is identical to the bird in the photo when it is displaying its winter plumage. The species I believe it to be is the Alca torda, commonly known as the Razorbill (audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill). The main identification feature that I used for the bird was the bill. This species has a unique and interesting white stripe that crosses downward on its bill which can be easily seen in the photo. None of the other species I came across possessed this feature. Its penguin-like morphology comes from the fact that it is related to puffins, auks, and murres which are all very distantly related to penguins. Finding this species in this area is exciting because it is not common in the south of the United States. The species is typically found in northern regions of Eastern North America and parts of Europe which makes it surprising to see one on Wrightsville beach. Despite my surprise at this, I was able to determine that these birds are known to travel as far south as Virginia during the winter months and can even be seen as far south as Florida on rare occasions (audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill). There are countless ecological concepts that could be discussed with this rare finding, but one that is extremely important for this species is climate change. This species is currently listed on the IUCN list of threatened species as "near threatened" with a trend towards decreasing populations. Its decline began in the 1990s and is continuing to get worse (iucnredlist.org/details/22694852/0). It is believed that these birds are actually beginning to populate areas further north than their typical home range due to increasing global temperatures (audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill). One study found that this species is actually beginning to colonize different parts of eastern Canada that it is not normally found in and is in fact changing its dispersal patterns (Gaston and Woo, 939). Many sources discuss the species' as thriving in arctic waters of the North Atlantic and very few of them discuss the bird as being acclimated to living in the south. From this information I would hypothesize that this bird would not likely thrive off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina. Though the cause of this particular bird's death cannot be verified directly from this photo it is possible that it could be related to the particularly warm temperatures in the area during the week the photo was taken. Clearly, the bird has become accustomed to living in cooler climates through its evolutionary adaptations and this southern climate may not fulfill its niche requirements.
Gaston, A., K. Woo. 2008. Razorbills (Alca torda) Follow Subarctic Prey into the Candian Arctic: Colonization Results from Climate Change? The Auk 125: 939-942.
www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill
www.iucnredlist.org/details/22694852/0
Razorbill (Alca torda)
While walking on Wrightsville beach a few weekends ago I came across this dead bird lying on the shore. Upon the first look I figured that the bird was some sort of seagull species native to North Carolina, but after further investigation I determined that there were no gull species in the area that looked similar to this organism. The bird in the photo has a slight resemblance to a penguin which seems rather strange since I found it in southern North Carolina. After comparing it with many different bird species I found one that is identical to the bird in the photo when it is displaying its winter plumage. The species I believe it to be is the Alca torda, commonly known as the Razorbill (audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill). The main identification feature that I used for the bird was the bill. This species has a unique and interesting white stripe that crosses downward on its bill which can be easily seen in the photo. None of the other species I came across possessed this feature. Its penguin-like morphology comes from the fact that it is related to puffins, auks, and murres which are all very distantly related to penguins. Finding this species in this area is exciting because it is not common in the south of the United States. The species is typically found in northern regions of Eastern North America and parts of Europe which makes it surprising to see one on Wrightsville beach. Despite my surprise at this, I was able to determine that these birds are known to travel as far south as Virginia during the winter months and can even be seen as far south as Florida on rare occasions (audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill). There are countless ecological concepts that could be discussed with this rare finding, but one that is extremely important for this species is climate change. This species is currently listed on the IUCN list of threatened species as "near threatened" with a trend towards decreasing populations. Its decline began in the 1990s and is continuing to get worse (iucnredlist.org/details/22694852/0). It is believed that these birds are actually beginning to populate areas further north than their typical home range due to increasing global temperatures (audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill). One study found that this species is actually beginning to colonize different parts of eastern Canada that it is not normally found in and is in fact changing its dispersal patterns (Gaston and Woo, 939). Many sources discuss the species' as thriving in arctic waters of the North Atlantic and very few of them discuss the bird as being acclimated to living in the south. From this information I would hypothesize that this bird would not likely thrive off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina. Though the cause of this particular bird's death cannot be verified directly from this photo it is possible that it could be related to the particularly warm temperatures in the area during the week the photo was taken. Clearly, the bird has become accustomed to living in cooler climates through its evolutionary adaptations and this southern climate may not fulfill its niche requirements.
Gaston, A., K. Woo. 2008. Razorbills (Alca torda) Follow Subarctic Prey into the Candian Arctic: Colonization Results from Climate Change? The Auk 125: 939-942.
www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/razorbill
www.iucnredlist.org/details/22694852/0