#alcida

[zombirps]

Meet Alcida, my idiot birb hacker

[eeltime]

some quick development / design sketches of my friend Sevin's little red junior cult leader

[herpsandbirds]

Dovekie aka Little Auk (Alle alle), family Alcidae, order Charadriiformes, Iceland

Photograph by Christophe Moning

[snototter]

A black guillemot or tystie (Cepphus grylle) in Mousa, Shetland, UK

by Gary Faulkner

[alphynix]

The mancallines were a lineage of flightless semi-aquatic birds closely related to auks. Known from the Pacific coasts of what are now California and Mexico, between about 7.5 and 0.5 million years ago, they convergently evolved a close resemblance and similar lifestyle to both the recently-extinct North Atlantic great auk and the southern penguins.

Miomancalla howardi here lived in offshore waters around southern California during the late Miocene (~7-5 million years ago). The largest of the mancallines, it just slightly beat out the great auk in size – standing around 90cm tall (~3') and weighing an estimated 5kg (11lbs).

Like great auks and penguins it would have been a specialized wing-propelled diver, swimming using "underwater flight" to feed on small bait fish. It probably spent much of its life out at sea, probably only returning to land to molt and breed.

———

NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

[birdblues]

Atlantic Puffin

[fullfrontalbirds]

Razorbill (Alca torda)

© Will Kennerley

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Throughout the animal kingdom, horns are used as a sure-fire way to impress potential mates. Case in point: the rhinoceros auklet. This bird is named for the horn-like appendage (known as a rhamphotheca) that grows from the beak of breeding males and females. The size of the horn, and the ultaviolet patterns covering its surface, is thought to influence mate choice.

(Image: A rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) by Eric Ellingson)

Want to request some art or uncharismatic facts? Just send me proof of donation to any of the fundraisers on this list, or a Palestinian organization of your choice! Proof does not have to include any personal info– only the date, the amount, and the recipient.

[spinus-pinus]

Least Auklet Aethia pusilla

7/16/2024 St. Paul Island, Alaska

Sam Darmstadt via iNaturalist, CC-BY-NC

[haveyouseenthisanimal-irl]

[haveyouseenthisbirdpoll]

photo source

[zombirps]

Disaster stoner girlfriend

[blogbirdfeather]

Razorbill - Torda-mergulheira (Alca torda)

Setúbal/Portugal (13/03/2024)

[Nikon D850; AF-S Nikkor 500mm F5,6E PF ED VR]

[herpsandbirds]

Razorbill (Alca torda), family Alcidae, order Charadriiformes, Iceland

Photographs by Nick Mir

[snototter]

A crested auklet (Aethia cristatella) sits cliffside on St Paul Island, Alaska, USA

by Isaac Sanchez

[birds-mid-noms]

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

© Anthony Schlencker