Gould stated that after the breeding season in the far north, the Little Auk travelled south as far as Gibraltar and beyond. Mr Frederick du Cane Godman found a specimen in Terceira, Azores, killed on the island some four or five years previous to his visit in 1865. The auks reached Britain during their southerly journey and were sometimes blown inland in an exhausted state by winter gales.

The adult in the foreground of the illustration is in summer plumage, the adult behind is in winter plumage.

DISTRIBUTION: Northern Holarctic. Winters at sea and along coasts in North Atlantic south to West Indies, east Atlantic and west Mediterranean sea. In Britain erratic winter visitor to coastal waters, mid-September to mid-March