Alcini
Tribe of auks including murres, little auk, razorbill, and great auk.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
The Alcini are a tribe of auks within the subfamily Alcinae, comprising the typical auks and murres. This group includes the genera Uria (common murre and thick-billed murre), Alle (little auk), Pinguinus (including the extinct great auk), and Alca (razorbill). They are distinguished by their slender bills and are among the most efficient underwater swimmers in the alcid family, with the Uria guillemots capable of diving to depths of 100 meters.
- extant_species
- 4 genera with several species
- notable_extinction
- Great auk (Pinguinus impennis, extinct c.1852)
- diving_depth
- Up to 100 m (330 ft) for Uria guillemots
- distribution
- Northern Hemisphere, cooler northern waters
- key_behavior
- Wing-propelled pursuit divers, monogamous, colonial nesters
Lore & Background
The Alcini tribe includes the Uria guillemots (murres), which nest in large colonies on cliff edges and are strong swimmers that hunt faster, schooling fish. The little auk (Alle alle), known as dovekie in North America, is a smaller member. The genus Pinguinus contains the great auk, the only flightless auk, which became extinct around 1852. The razorbill (Alca torda) is the type species of the genus Alca, named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
These birds are monomorphic, with males and females similar in appearance. They are monogamous and tend to form lifelong pairs, typically laying a single egg and using the same nesting site year after year. The Alcini are colonial, except for the Brachyramphus murrelets, which are not part of this tribe.
Fossil evidence shows that the earliest unequivocal auks date from the late Eocene, about 35 million years ago. The Alcini are part of the Lari suborder, with their closest living relatives appearing to be the skuas, from which they separated about 30 million years ago.
Reader's Guide
The Alcini tribe holds significance as a key group within the alcid family, illustrating the evolutionary trade-off between flight and diving ability. Their wings are a compromise between efficient underwater propulsion and the minimum needed for flight, with Uria guillemots being among the most efficient divers. The extinct great auk (Pinguinus impennis) is a notable example of a flightless auk, highlighting the extreme end of this adaptation.
The tribe's distribution is restricted to cooler northern waters, as their pursuit-diving hunting method becomes less efficient in warmer seas. The current paucity of auks in the Atlantic (six species) compared to the Pacific (19–20 species) is attributed to extinctions, with the fossil record showing many more Atlantic species during the Pliocene. The Alcini are pelagic, spending most of their lives at sea and coming ashore only to breed, often in large colonies on cliffs. Their monogamous, long-term pair bonds and single-egg clutches are characteristic of the family. The tribe's systematics, based on morphology and genetic analyses, confirm its distinctness within the Alcinae, with the Synthliboramphus murrelets now considered more closely related to the Alcini than previously thought.
Did You Know?
- The great auk (Pinguinus impennis) was the only flightless auk and became extinct around 1852.
- Uria guillemots can dive as deep as 100 m (330 ft), the deepest of any auk.
- The little auk is called 'dovekie' in North America and 'little auk' in Europe.
- The genus name Alca was given by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for the razorbill.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Alcini?
The Alcini are a tribe of auks nested within the subfamily Alcinae, grouping together the so-called typical auks and the murres. They are set apart from other alcid tribes by their slender bills and by being the most accomplished underwater swimmers in the entire alcid family.
Which genera make up the Alcini tribe?
Four genera fall under this tribe: Uria (common murre and thick-billed murre), Alle (little auk), Pinguinus (the now-extinct great auk), and Alca (razorbill). Together they represent several living species found in the cooler waters of the Northern Hemisphere.
How deep can Alcini birds dive?
Guillemots in the genus Uria can plunge to roughly 100 meters (about 330 feet) while chasing prey. They power themselves through the water with rapid wing strokes, a technique that makes them the most efficient pursuit divers among all alcids.
What happened to the great auk, and why is it a defining loss for the Alcini?
The great auk (Pinguinus impennis), a member of the genus Pinguinus, was hunted to extinction around 1852. Its disappearance eliminated one of the tribe's four genera and stands as one of the most well-known human-caused extinctions in the auk family.
How do Alcini birds behave and reproduce?
They are monogamous, colonial nesters that breed along the coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere's colder seas. Outside the breeding season they forage as wing-propelled pursuit divers, using their streamlined bodies and powerful wingbeats to chase fish and small invertebrates beneath the surface.
More in Bird tribes 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record