Black Guillemot

Inuktitut name - Pitsiulaaq

Colour - in summer, black with white wing patches; in winter, mostly white with white wing patches; feet red

Length - 30 to 35 cm

Shape - neck thick

Behaviour - winters at edges of pack ice; breeding occurs in loose colonies on low cliffs and talus slopes; diet consists mainly of small fish

Distribution - very common in Lancaster Sound in summer; breeds in colonies of 5 to 200 pairs (except very far north where there can be up to 10,000 pairs in a colony) on east Ellesmere Island, north and south Baffin Island, Lancaster Sound (including Prince Leopold Island), Hudson Strait, Foxe Basin

Sensitivity - see Sensitivity Information on the Birds - General Information page

Black Guillemot (45 KB)

Lancaster Sound Area Distribution Maps: Fall Scenario Spring (Ice Scenario 1) Spring (Ice Scenario 2) Spring (Ice Scenario 3) Summer Scenario

Coronation Gulf Area Distribution Maps: See the Birds - General Information page.