CreatureData

Crested auklet

Aethia cristatella (Pallas, 1769)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The crested auklet (Aethia cristatella) is a species in the family Alcidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 251.4 g to 268 g and live up to 8.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Crested auklet (Aethia cristatella)
Photo: F. Deines, USFWS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the crested auklet

Weight
251.4 g – 268 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
40 cm – 50 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
8.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
10.8 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
34 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the crested auklet?

CRESTED AUKLET · WINGSPAN 50 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 50 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the crested auklet is about 29% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the crested auklet live?

Not recorded

What is the crested auklet?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The crested auklet (Aethia cristatella) is a small seabird of the family Alcidae, distributed throughout the northern Pacific and the Bering Sea. The species feeds by diving in deep waters, eating krill and a variety of small marine animals. It nests in dense colonies of up to 1 million individuals in the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. It often breeds in mixed-species colonies with the least auklet, a smaller congener.

The species is known for its sexual ornaments, found in both males and females. These include colorful plumage with a forehead crest, a striking scent recalling citrus fruit, and a loud trumpet call, all of which appear to have evolved through sexual selection. The total population is around 6 million, almost half in North America. It is in general considered to be of least concern, though the Alaskan population faces additional threats from predation and oil spills.

From the Wikipedia article “Crested auklet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crested_auklet&oldid=1380660935), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the crested auklet endangered?

The crested auklet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the crested auklet classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyAlcidae
  6. genusAethia
  7. SpeciesAethia cristatella (Pallas, 1769)

Synonyms Alca cristatella, Phaleris superciliata, Simorhynchus cristatellus

Other names and names in other languages (46)
  • Curled-crested PhalerisEnglish
  • أويك أعرفArabic
  • أويك متوجArabic
  • أُويك أعرفArabic
  • Godog kupennekBreton
  • gavotí emplomallatCatalan
  • alkoun chocholatýCzech
  • alkounek chocholatýCzech
  • carfil copogWelsh
  • Toppet DværgalkDanish
  • SchopfalkGerman
  • TufaŭkoEsperanto
  • tufaŭketoEsperanto
  • Alcuela crestadaSpanish
  • Alquita CrestadaSpanish
  • Mérgulo empenachadoSpanish
  • tuttalkEstonian
  • töyhtökiislanenFinnish
  • Starique cristatelleFrench
  • Falcóigín chíríneachIrish
  • אלקית מצויצתHebrew
  • ćubasta njorkaCroatian
  • bóbitás alkaHungarian
  • ToppklumbaIcelandic
  • Alchetta crestataItalian
  • Alca minore crestataItalian
  • エトロフウミスズメJapanese
  • 뿔바다오리Korean
  • kuoduotoji alkelėLithuanian
  • cekulainais alciņšLatvian
  • kuifalkDutch
  • toppdvergalkeNorwegian
  • nurniczek czubatyPolish
  • torda-de-penachoPortuguese
  • mérgulo-de-penachosPortuguese
  • Большая конюгаRussian
  • VuoktahálkaNorthern Sami
  • kosierkár veľkýSlovak
  • čopasti alkSlovenian
  • Ćubasta njorčicaSerbian
  • tofsalkaSwedish
  • Kahküllü AlkletTurkish
  • Sorguçlu dalıcımartıTurkish
  • конюга великаUkrainian
  • 冠小海雀Chinese
  • 凤头海雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the crested auklet

Other species in the same genus Aethia.

CompareCrested auklet vs Least aukletCrested auklet vs Whiskered aukletCrested auklet vs Parakeet aukletCrested auklet vs Aethia barnesi

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the crested auklet?

An adult crested auklet weighs 251.4 g – 268 g and has a wingspan of 40 cm – 50 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the crested auklet endangered?

The crested auklet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the crested auklet live?

The crested auklet has a recorded lifespan of 8.8 years.

What kind of animal is the crested auklet?

The crested auklet (Aethia cristatella) belongs to the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Crested auklet (Aethia cristatella). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-auklet

MLA

“Crested auklet (Aethia cristatella).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-auklet.

BibTeX
@misc{crested_auklet_2026,
  title = {Crested auklet (Aethia cristatella)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-auklet},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}