Alcidae Auks, Murres, and Puffins

These exclusively marine, wing-propelled divers are as agile at sea as they are clumsy on land, and they are fast, direct fliers once they become airborne. The young of different species leave the nest at very different ages depending on the relative safety and food supply near the nest, and those that leave the nest at a young age can undergo the majority of their development at sea, far from land, under the watchful care of a lone parent. Alcids have an enchanting diversity of courtship signals, with facial plumes, large and brightly colored bills, and even olfactory cues, yet in none of the species are males and females differentially adorned.