Auks (Alcidae)

Whiskered Auklet (Aethia pygmaea) - HBW 3, p. 718

French: Starique pygmée German: Bartalk Spanish: Mérgulo Bigotudo
Other common names: Pygmy Auklet

Taxonomy: Alca pygmæa Gmelin, 1789, Bering Sea.
Race camtschatica proposed for birds from Kuril Is based on differences in body size, but recent studies confirm existence of simple clinal variation only, with size increasing from E to W. Monotypic.

Distribution: NE Sea of Okhotsk (Yamskie Is, Penzhin Gulf, Jona I) and Commander Is S to at least C Kuril Is, and throughout Aleutians E to Krenitzen Is and Four Mountains Is. Winters mostly near breeding locations, but S as far as Japan (Honshu, Shikoku), and casual in N Bering Sea (e.g. St Lawrence I).