guillemot

/gil"euh mot'/, n.

1. a black or brown-speckled seabird of the genus Cepphus, of northern seas, having a sharply pointed black bill, red legs, and white wing patches, as C. grylle (black guillemot), of the North Atlantic and the similar C. columba (pigeon guillemot) of the North Pacific.

2. Brit. a murre of the genus Uria.

[1670-80; < F, appar. dim. of Guillaume William]

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Any of three species of black-and-white seabirds (genus Cepphus, family Alcidae).

Guillemots have a pointed, black bill and red legs. Guillemots are deep divers that feed at the bottom. The best-known species, the black guillemot, breeds around the Arctic Circle and winters south to the British Isles, Maine, and the Bering Strait; it is about 14 in. (35 cm) long. The similar pigeon guillemot breeds along both coasts of the North Pacific, south to Japan and southern California; the spectacled guillemot breeds from Japan to the Kuril Islands. In British usage, the name also refers to birds called murres in the U.S.

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▪ bird

 any of three species of black and white seabirds of the genus Cepphus, in the auk family, Alcidae. The birds have a pointed, black bill and red legs. In British usage, the name guillemot also refers to birds that in America are called murres. Guillemots are deep divers that feed on the bottom. The best known of the three species is the black guillemot, or tystie (C. grylle; see photograph—>). It is about 35 cm (14 inches) long and is coloured black with white wing patches in the breeding season. In winter it is fully white below and speckled brown and white above. The black guillemot breeds around the Arctic Circle and winters south to the British Isles, Maine, U.S., and the Bering Strait, usually remaining within sight of land and never forming large flocks. The similar pigeon guillemot (C. columba) breeds along both coasts of the North Pacific, south to Japan and southern California, U.S. The spectacled guillemot (C. carbo) breeds from Japan to the Kuril Islands. The two spotted eggs of guillemots are laid in a crevice, where the young remain for six weeks until they can fly.

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