Rhinoceros Auklet

Cerorhinca monocerata (Pallas, 1811)

≈36 cmLength62 cmWingspan482 gWeight

Adults in the breeding season have a small horn on the bill and white facial plumes.

Busiest months: November · Most records: United States, Canada, Japan

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Adults in the breeding season have a horn-like structure on the bill
Adults in the breeding season have white feathers above the eyes and behind the bill
Dark upperparts and paler underparts
Plump body and short wings

Male, female and young

The male is slightly larger, weighing about 10% more than the female; both adult sexes have white facial plumes in the breeding season.

Where and when it's recorded

Rhinoceros Auklet has been recorded at 61 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 4 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Pt. Pinos – seawatch onlyUnited States8,960 records
Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States6,986 records
Point No PointUnited States4,675 records

More places

Rocky Point Bird ObservatoryCanada4,194 records
Edmonds WaterfrontUnited States3,889 records
Discovery ParkUnited States3,798 records
Clover PointCanada3,115 records
Gardiner BeachUnited States1,911 records
Oak Bay – Cattle PointCanada1,354 records
Esquimalt LagoonCanada1,278 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Canada Japan South Korea

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) is a seabird and a close relative of the puffins. It is the only extant species of the genus Cerorhinca. Given its close relationship with the puffins, the common name rhinoceros puffin has been proposed for the species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Rhinoceros Auklet?

The Rhinoceros Auklet is about ≈36 cm long, with a wingspan of 62 cm and weighs around 482 g.

Where does the Rhinoceros Auklet live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic, North America: temperate North Pacific coasts: off Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (southeastern Russia), Hokkaido and northern Honshu (northern Japan), Aleutian Islands, southern, southeastern Alaska to southern California. It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and Japan.

When is the best time to see the Rhinoceros Auklet?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Rhinoceros Auklet endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Rhinoceros Auklet as Least Concern.

What does the Rhinoceros Auklet eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Rhinoceros Auklet in?

It belongs to the family Auks (Alcidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈36 cm
Wingspan: 62 cm
Weight: 482 g
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: On the water surface
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 179 mm
Tail: 51 mm
Bill: 48 mm
Tarsus: 29 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic, North America: temperate North Pacific coasts: off Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (southeastern Russia), Hokkaido and northern Honshu (northern Japan), Aleutian Islands, southern, southeastern Alaska to southern California

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2