Shawn Pollard, age 10, of Sierra Vista, Ariz., for his question:
HOW CAN THE CRESTED AUKLET DIVE?
Most diving birds have streamlined bodies, and certainly a lot of fancy plumage seems quite out of place when swimming underwater. The sooty little crested auklet is a champion diver of Arctic seas. Yet somehow he manages to cope with a stringy plume that dangles forward, almost touching his stubby beak.
He lives in the far northern Pacific, where scowling cliffs plunge down to the icy waves. It seems like a most unfriendly place for a chubby little bird, no longer than 10 inches. Yet this is the native home of the crested auklet, plus a dozen or so auklet cousins and numerous other members of the bird world.
These sturdy birds roost and nest on rocky cliffs. All of them feast on fish and crustaceans, octopuses and other sea creatures that thrive in these chilly seas So, naturally, all of them must be expert divers and swimmers. Most of the birds of the far northern Pacific have streamlined bodies, but not the crested auklet.
These chubby, web foot birds are dusky gray. They have short stubby wings and stubby beaks. In the adult birds, the rather drab plumage is set off by a pair of thin white whiskers that droop down from below each eye. This so called crest is a thin finger of feathers that curves up and droops down in front of the beak.
This fancy crest may look quite sturdy, though actually it is very slim and pliable. When swimming or diving, it simply washes back over his head. Obviously it is just for show, for the adult auklets wear it only in spring and summer when their dark bills turn coral red. In winter, the remarkable crest is lost.
The little auklets are champion fliers and often flock out to sea in search of food. Their crowded nesting areas are perched on rocky ledges, where the female lays just one pale blue egg. Both parents fly to and fro, perhaps nine times a day, with their beaks stuffed with plankton type food to feed their precious chick. At this time of year, the air is filled with noisy honks and grunts; for the little crested auklet has a loud voice.
This remarkable bird family includes a large assortment of murres and guillemots, puffins and other birds of the Arctic. Not so long ago, they shared their chilly windblown cliffs with the famous great auk, who was as big as a goose. Sad to say, the last of the great auks was wiped out in 1844 and these so called Northern penguins are now extinct.