Least auklet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Least auklet |
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Aethia
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pusilla
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The least auklet (Aethia pusilla) is a tiny seabird. It is the smallest type of auk, which is a family of diving birds. These little birds are super common! About nine million least auklets live in the world, making them the most abundant seabird in North America. They make their homes and raise their babies on islands in Alaska and Siberia. During winter, they stay near the edge of the ice sheet in the ocean. Their biggest groups, called colonies, are found on places like the Aleutian Islands, St. Lawrence Island, and Little Diomede Island.
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What Least Auklets Eat
Least auklets mostly eat tiny sea creatures called copepods. These are small crustaceans, like miniature shrimp. They especially like a type of copepod called Neocalanus. They also munch on other tiny animals that float in the ocean, known as zooplankton. This includes things like euphausiids (which are also small crustaceans) and pteropods (tiny sea snails).
These birds hunt for their food in special parts of the ocean. This is where upwelling (when deep, cold water rises) and thermoclines (layers of water with different temperatures) cause their prey to gather in big groups. Like all auks, they are amazing divers. They use their wings to push themselves through the water, almost like they are "flying" underwater! Least auklets are very hungry birds, eating about 86% of their own body weight every single day.
Least Auklet Reproduction and Life Cycle
Least auklets love to live in huge groups, called colonies. They nest in rocky cracks and crevices. Some of these colonies can have up to a million birds! Often, different types of auklets live together in these colonies. While living with other species might help protect them from predators, it can also cause problems. Larger crested auklets sometimes push the smaller least auklets out of their nesting spots.
A female least auklet lays just one egg in a rocky crevice. Both parents take turns sitting on the egg for about a month to keep it warm. When the egg hatches, a fluffy black chick comes out. This chick is semi-precocial, meaning it's quite developed and can move around soon after hatching. Both mom and dad also share the job of feeding and taking care of the chick.
Unlike many other auks that bring fish to their babies, least auklet chicks are fed copepods and other zooplankton. The parents carry this food in a special pouch under their tongue. Once the chicks are old enough to fledge (leave the nest and fly), they don't get any more help from their parents. They can dive and hunt for their own food as soon as they leave home!
Least Auklet Status and Conservation
Least auklets face some dangers, like oil spills in the ocean and introduced species. An "introduced species" is an animal that is brought to an area where it doesn't naturally live. For example, when Arctic foxes were brought to many of the Aleutian Islands, they hunted the auklets. This caused the least auklet population to disappear from many of those islands. Rats can also be a problem on some islands, as they might eat eggs or chicks.
However, even with these challenges, least auklets are still a very common bird species. The IUCN (a group that studies wildlife) does not consider them to be threatened right now.
Images for kids
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A least auklet in its natural habitat.
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Map showing the breeding and wintering range of the least auklet.
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A staff member from the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge holding a least auklet gently.
