Razorbill: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Seabirds · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. Razorbills normally feed about 25 m down, yet they can plunge to 120 m when needed.
2. Before laying, a razorbill pair may mate up to 80 times in 30 days.
3. Razorbills live about 13 years on average. The record holder, ringed in the UK in 1967, made it to at least 41.
4. After 17 to 23 days, a razorbill chick jumps from the cliff, with its father close behind to go with it to sea.
5. Razorbills pair for life. Both parents share the incubating and feed their single chick together.

The quiz

1. What is the deepest a razorbill can dive?

• 120 m (correct)
• 12 m
• 250 m
• 25 m

They normally feed at about 25 m, but can plunge to 120 m.

2. Up to how many times may a razorbill pair mate in 30 days?

• 8
• 80 (correct)
• 20
• 300

Over a 30-day stretch, a pair can mate as many as 80 times.

3. How long did the razorbill ringed in the UK in 1967 survive?

• At least 13 years
• At least 4 years
• At least 90 years
• At least 41 years (correct)

The bird ringed in 1967 lived at least 41 years, a record for the species.

4. How does a razorbill chick leave the nest?

• By flying away
• By swimming out of a burrow
• By jumping from a cliff (correct)
• By being carried by its mother

The chick jumps from a cliff, closely followed by its father.

5. How many chicks do a razorbill pair feed together?

• Three chicks
• A single chick (correct)
• Five chicks
• Two chicks

Each pair shares incubation and feeds its single chick together.

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