The Crested Auklet breeds on rocky islands in the Bering Sea and dives underwater for crustaceans and other prey.
Its upper body is dark grey and the lower body is usually brownish grey. Forward-curled facial feathers and a crest stand out; males typically have longer crests.
Crested Auklets breed in rocky sites on the Aleutian Islands and move across the sea after raising their chicks. From 2011 to 2015, Heather Major and colleagues tracked birds breeding at Buldir and Gareloi islands in the western Aleutians. Recovered tracks showed birds moving north in autumn and using the Bering and Chukchi seas before continuing to winter areas.
Ninety-five percent of the recaptured tagged birds moved near the Kuril Islands for winter, while 5 percent remained near the Alaska coast and eastern Aleutians. The tracked birds returned to their breeding colonies by mid-April. The study describes a triangular annual route between two western Aleutian colonies, northern seas, and wintering areas farther south.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Among tagged birds recaptured with usable tracks, 95% wintered near the Kuril Islands after breeding in the western Aleutians.