Rhinoceros Auklet

On 21 October 2019, I got fairly close to a few Rhinoceros Auklets. Despite the foggy, rainy weather, I was able to note the yellowish color of the bill. The bird in the second photo flashed its white belly, another of this species’ field marks. I am a bit puzzled by the white line on the first bird’s shoulder—my field guide does not illustrate this mark.

The closeup shot give a good look at the auklets strange bill. The bill is unlike a duck, more reminiscent of a gull. Both gulls and auklets share an evolutionary heritage with shorebirds—gulls, shorebirds, and auks are now placed in the same order. You can almost see a hint of the structure of the rhinoceros-like “horn” (vertical extensions of mandibular plates) that gives this auklet its name. Hopefully the auklets will stick around Olympia long enough for me to capture one in its stunning, full-breeding plumage.