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[[Image:Parakeetauklet.jpg]]

'''Common Name:''' Parakeet Auklet<br>
'''Scientific Name:''' Aethia psittacula

'''Size:''' 10 inches (25.4 cm)

'''Habitat:''' North Pacific: found in the boreal waters of Alaska and Kamchatka and Siberia. It breeds on the cliffs, slopes and boulder fields of offshore islands, generally moving south during the winter.

'''Status:''' Least Concern. '''Global Population:''' 1,200,000 mature individuals. It is not thought to have declined recently, but may be threatened in the future by introduced predators, oil spills and food shortages caused by global warming.

'''Diet:''' Euphausiids, copepods and amphipods. Recent research shows it also preys on jellyfish in some areas. It often feeds at a considerable distance from the colony, diving up to 30 m to reach its prey.

'''Nesting:'''  Breeding begins in April and May in colonies that are often shared with other auk species. Nests are constructed in crevices of cliffs, slopes and boulder fields facing seaward. In some cases, they auklets may dig burrows in the soil to nest in. 

They lay a single white egg that is incubated by both parents. The chick stays in the nest site until fully grown, where it waits for its parents to return from sea with food. When the chick has grown enough to fly, it leaves its crevice at night and flies out to sea. Its parents stop taking care of it once it leaves the nest and so it must quickly learn to swim and find food on its own.

'''Cool Facts:''' Parakeet Auklets spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land only to breed and raise young. They are usually seen singly at sea.

Calls: They are silent at sea. Adults in colony give rhythmic, hoarse calls similar to Cassin's Auklet. It may also give a quavering, descending squeal. They are highly vocal species at the nest.

Its wing beats are slower than other auklets.


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