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Home/Species/ Rhinoceros Auklet

Cerorhinca monocerata

(Pallas, 1811)

Rhinoceros Auklet

G5Secure Found in 21 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106458
Element CodeABNNN11010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyAlcidae
GenusCerorhinca
Other Common Names
Alca Rinoceronte (ES) Macareux rhinocéros (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-07
Change Date1996-11-27
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Rank Reasons
Large range; large populations in several areas, generally stable or increasing.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: islands along Pacific coast of North America, south-coastal and southeastern Alaska south to central California; eastern Asia from southern Sakhalin and southern Kurile islands south to Korea, Japan. NON-BREEDING: off Pacific coast from southern British Columbia south to Baja California; also in Asia (AOU 1983).
Threat Impact Comments
Apparently has been eliminated from much of original breeding range in Alaska due to introduction of arctic fox (though this was not mentioned by Lensink 1984); eradication of introduced foxes from Alaskan islands has been underway for several years. Predation on eggs by Keen's mouse (PEROMYSCUS KEENI) was single greatest cause of egg loss at a colony in British Columbia (Blight et al. 1999).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

A large, chunky, seabird with a large head and bill and a short thick neck; upperparts are blackish brown, with paler sides, neck, and throat; belly white, grading into dark breast; adults in breeding plumage (acquired in winter) have two prominent white plume streaks on each side of the head (indistinct in basic plumage) and a yellow, upward-directed horn at the base of the orange or yellowish bill (horn is absent in nonbreeding plumage); immatures lack the horn and the white head plumes, and the bill is dusky and the eyes are darker; average length 38 cm (NGS 1983).

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from many similarly dark alcids (Cassin's auklet, parakeet auklet, crested auklet, and whiskered auklet) in larger size (length 38 cm vs. 20-27 cm) and longer, heavier bill. Differs from horned puffin in having a dark rather than white chest. Differs from similar juvenile tufted puffin in having a bill that is smaller (not as tall in the middle); adults have two white plume streaks (may be indistinct) on each side of the head (white streaks never are present in tufted puffin).

Habitat

Nonbreeding: mostly pelagic, less frequently along rocky seacoasts (AOU 1983).

Nests in burrow mainly on grassy or shrubby sea-facing slope or level area near edge of island; small numbers of nests on cliffs or steep slopes (Wilson and Manuwal 1986); also recorded nesting in caves in Oregon and California. Often uses same nest site in successive years. Readily accepts artificial burrows (see Spendelow and Patton 1988). See Spendelow and Patton (1988) for further details on nesting habitat in Washington and British Columbia.

Ecology

Usually seen alone or in small groups on the ocean.

Introduced arctic fox (predator) may explain absence throughout almost all of Aleutian chain. Commonly preyed on by great horned owl on Protection Island, Washington (Hayward et al., 1993, Auk 110:133-135).

Reproduction

Egg are laid May-June in Alaska and British Columbia, late April-June in Washington. Clutch size is 1. Incubation lasts 39-52 days (average 46), by both sexes. Nestling period lasts 40-70 days (reported means: 52-55 days) (Harfenist 1995, Auk 112:60-66). One or both parents may feed the chick each night. Young independent while they complete development at sea after fledging. Appears to retain same mate in subsequent years. Breeding success of about 50-60% may be typical (Johnsgard 1987). Nesting density sometimes >1 nest burrow per sq m.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - ConiferShrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceousCliff
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
WashingtonS4B,S4NYes
CaliforniaS3Yes
OregonS2BYes
AlaskaS4BYes
CanadaN4B,N4N
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
11 - Climate change & severe weatherUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
11.3 - Temperature extremesUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (21)
Alaska (17)
AreaForestAcres
Behm IslandsTongass National Forest4,777
CalderTongass National Forest9,857
ClevelandTongass National Forest189,447
DukeTongass National Forest45,091
EudoraTongass National Forest195,022
GravinaTongass National Forest37,381
North BaranofTongass National Forest314,089
North KruzofTongass National Forest33,146
North RevillaTongass National Forest215,430
Outer IslandsTongass National Forest99,862
Port AlexanderTongass National Forest120,681
RedoubtTongass National Forest68,347
Sitka UrbanTongass National Forest112,003
Soda BayTongass National Forest78,091
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
South KuiuTongass National Forest62,452
Suemez IslandTongass National Forest19,903
Oregon (3)
AreaForestAcres
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
Umpqua SpitSiuslaw National Forest2,090
WoahinkSiuslaw National Forest5,309
Washington (1)
AreaForestAcres
Madison CreekOlympic National Forest1,223
References (25)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  4. Blight, L.K., J.L. Ryder, and D.F. Bertram. 1999. Predation on Rhinoceros Auklet eggs by a native population of <i>Peromyscus</i>. Condor 101(4):871-876.
  5. Burger, A. E., et al. 1993. Diving depths, diet, and underwater foraging of rhinoceros auklets in British Columbia. Can. J. Zool. 71:2528-2540.
  6. Gaston, A. J., and J. M. Hipfner. 2000. Thick-billed Murre (<i>Uria lomvia</i>). No. 497 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  7. Gaston, A. J., et al. 1994. Population parameters of thick-billed murres at Coats Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Condor 96:935-948.
  8. Golovkin, A. N. 1984. Seabirds nesting in the USSR: the status and protection of populations. Pages 473-486 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
  9. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  10. Hasegawa, H. 1984. Status and conservation of seabirds in Japan, with special attention to the short-tailed albatross. Pages 487-500 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
  11. Hatch, S. A., and M. A. Hatch. 1990. Breeding seasons of oceanic birds in a subarctic colony. Can. J. Zool. 68:1664-1679.
  12. Hyslop, C., and J. Kennedy, editors. 1992. Bird trends: a report on results of national ornithological surveys in Canada. Number 2, Autumn 1992. Migratory Birds Conservation Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario. 20 pp.
  13. Johnsgard, P. A. 1987. Diving birds of North America. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. xii + 292 pp.
  14. Lensink, C. J. 1984. The status and conservation of seabirds in Alaska. Pages 13-27 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Publ. No. 2.
  15. Mostello, C. S., N. A. Palaia, and R. B. Clapp. 2000. Gray-backed Tern (Sterna lunata). No. 525 in A. Poole and F. Gill (editors). The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 28 pp.
  16. National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
  17. Nettleship, D. N. 1996. Family Alcidae (auks). Pages 678-723 in J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (Eds.) Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 3. Lynx Editions, Barcelona, Spain.
  18. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  19. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  20. Schreiber, E. A., R. W. Schreiber, and G. A. Schenk. 1996. Red-footed Booby (<i>Sula sula</i>). No. 241 in A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The Amerian Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 24 pp.
  21. Sealy, S. G., editor. 1990. Auks at sea. Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Studies in Avian Biology No. 14. vi + 180 pp.
  22. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  23. Spendelow, J. A. and S. R. Patton. 1988. National Atlas of Coastal Waterbird Colonies in the Contiguous United States: 1976-1982. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report 88(5). x + 326 pp.
  24. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  25. Wilson, U. W., and D. A. Manuwal. 1986. Breeding biology of the rhinoceros auklet in Washington. Condor 88:143-155.