CreatureData

Whiskered auklet

Aethia pygmaea (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The whiskered auklet (Aethia pygmaea) is a species in the family Alcidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 112 g to 127 g and live up to 15 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Whiskered auklet (Aethia pygmaea)
Photo: Credit at source · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the whiskered auklet

Weight
112 g – 127 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
37 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
15 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
32.8 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
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 whiskered auklet?

WHISKERED AUKLET · WINGSPAN 37 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 37 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the whiskered auklet is about 22% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the whiskered auklet live?

Not recorded

What is the whiskered auklet?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The whiskered auklet (Aethia pygmaea) is a small seabird of the auk family. It has a more restricted range than other members of its genus, Aethia, living only around the Aleutian Islands and on some islands off Siberia (like Commander Islands), and breeding on these islands. It is one of the smallest alcids, only the closely related least auklet being smaller. Its name is derived from the long white feathers on its face that are part of its breeding plumage.

The whiskered auklet is a poorly studied species and much research needs to be undertaken on the species. It was originally described as two different species, from specimens collected at different ends of its range, however research has shown that it is a single species with clinal variation along its range. It is not thought to undertake migration, but instead attends its breeding islands year round, and has been shown to roost on land all year round, an unusual trait in the family. Whiskered auklets lay a single egg in a rocky crevice, in loose colonies with other whiskered auklets and also other colonial seabirds. Both parents take part in incubation and chick rearing. The whiskers have been shown to help them sense their way to and out of their nests at night.

Whiskered auklets feed in the inshore zone, usually within 16 km of land, where tidal currents concentrate their prey into dense swarms. They feed predominantly on copepods during the summer months, mostly on the species Neocalanus plumchrus; and switching to euphausiid krill in the fall and winter.

From the Wikipedia article “Whiskered auklet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whiskered_auklet&oldid=1315258128), 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 whiskered auklet endangered?

The whiskered 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. What the categories mean.

How is the whiskered auklet classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyAlcidae
  6. genusAethia
  7. SpeciesAethia pygmaea (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Synonyms Aethia pygmaea pygmaea, Alca pygmaea, Phaleris cassini, Simorhynchus cassini, Simorhynchus pygmaeus

Other names and names in other languages (36)
  • أويك مشوربArabic
  • Godogig mourraouekBreton
  • gavotí de bigotisCatalan
  • alkounek drobnýCzech
  • carfil mwstasiogWelsh
  • Skægget DværgalkDanish
  • BartalkGerman
  • Pigmea aŭkoEsperanto
  • liphara aŭketoEsperanto
  • Mérgulo bigotudoSpanish
  • kiharördEstonian
  • hapsukiislanenFinnish
  • Starique pygméeFrench
  • crvenokljuna njorkaCroatian
  • bajszos alkaHungarian
  • Alchetta baffutaItalian
  • Alca minore dalle rediniItalian
  • シラヒゲウミスズメJapanese
  • 흰수염작은바다오리Korean
  • ūsuotoji alkelėLithuanian
  • ragainais alciņšLatvian
  • geoorde dwergalkDutch
  • praktdvergalkeNorwegian
  • nurniczek wąsatyPolish
  • torda-de-bigodesPortuguese
  • mérgulo-de-bigodePortuguese
  • mérgulo-de-bigodesPortuguese
  • Малая конюгаRussian
  • kosierkár malýSlovak
  • Brkata njorčicaSerbian
  • plymalkaSwedish
  • Bıyıklı AlkletTurkish
  • Sakallı dalıcımartıTurkish
  • конюга малаUkrainian
  • 须海雀Chinese
  • 鬚海雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the whiskered auklet

Other species in the same genus Aethia.

CompareWhiskered auklet vs Crested aukletWhiskered auklet vs Least aukletWhiskered auklet vs Parakeet aukletWhiskered auklet vs Aethia barnesi

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the whiskered auklet?

An adult whiskered auklet weighs 112 g – 127 g and has a wingspan of 37 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the whiskered auklet endangered?

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

How long does the whiskered auklet live?

The whiskered auklet has a recorded lifespan of 15 years.

What kind of animal is the whiskered auklet?

The whiskered auklet (Aethia pygmaea) 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). Whiskered auklet (Aethia pygmaea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/whiskered-auklet

MLA

“Whiskered auklet (Aethia pygmaea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/whiskered-auklet.

BibTeX
@misc{whiskered_auklet_2026,
  title = {Whiskered auklet (Aethia pygmaea)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/whiskered-auklet},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}