Birds Most active at dawn and dusk

Rhinoceros Auklet

Cerorhinca monocerata

iNaturalist eBird Wikipedia

Meet the 'Rhino of the Sea,' a mysterious nocturnal relative of the puffin that nests in underground forest burrows and sports a unique facial horn during the summer months.

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Quick Identification

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Size

Length: 35–38 cm (14–15 in); Wingspan: 57–65 cm (22–26 in); Weight: 450–550 g (1–1.2 lbs)

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Colors

Sooty-grey to dark brown upperparts with paler grey underparts; breeding adults feature a yellowish-orange bill and two distinct white facial plumes.

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Key Features

Vertical 'horn' at the base of the bill during breeding season
Two thin white facial plumes behind the eye and from the bill corner
Stocky, puffin-like body with a thick neck
Orange-yellow bill with a darker culmen

When You’ll See Them

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Activity pattern Most active at dawn and dusk

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Peak hours 9 PM - 3 AM (at breeding colonies), 5-8 AM (foraging at sea)

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Season May-August during the breeding season

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Diet Small schooling fish including Pacific sand lance, herring, and anchovies; occasionally squid and krill.

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Habitat Pelagic (open ocean) and coastal islands with soft soil or forested slopes for burrowing.

Behavior

Rhinoceros Auklets are often referred to as the 'nocturnal puffin.' Unlike their more famous cousins, they are highly secretive on land, primarily visiting their breeding colonies under the cover of darkness. This nocturnal behavior is a specialized strategy to avoid kleptoparasitism—a fancy way of saying they don't want gulls or eagles stealing the fish they’ve worked hard to catch for their chicks.

At sea, they are social birds but tend to forage in small groups rather than massive rafts. They are incredible pursuit-divers, using their wings to literally fly through the water in search of schooling fish. While they can be seen during the day on the open ocean, they remain cautious and will dive or fly away if a vessel approaches too closely. On land, they are clumsy but determined, often crash-landing into the undergrowth before scurrying into their underground burrows.

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Camera Tips

Capturing Rhinoceros Auklets requires a specialized approach because they spend their nights on land and their days at sea. If you have access to a coastal property or island near a colony, the 'golden ticket' is locating their burrow entrances. Look for 4-6 inch wide holes in the soil, often tucked under the roots of Sitka spruce or hidden by sword ferns. Position your camera 12-18 inches off the ground, angled slightly downward toward the entrance. Because these birds only visit at night, a camera with high-quality 'No-Glow' infrared LEDs is mandatory to prevent startling the birds or attracting predators like raccoons or eagles to the burrow.

Set your camera to video mode or a 3-shot burst with the fastest possible trigger speed. These birds 'crash-land' near their burrows and move surprisingly fast across the forest floor to avoid detection. High-speed video is especially rewarding because it captures the frantic, comical way they scurry with a bill full of fish. Since the fish themselves are often silvery and reflective, try to reduce your camera's flash intensity if possible to avoid 'white-out' on the most interesting part of the shot.

For those monitoring from the shore or a pier, a camera aimed at the water line during the pre-dawn hours (4 AM to 6 AM) can catch them as they gather before heading out to sea. However, land-based burrow shots remain the most reliable way to get high-quality images. Avoid using any scent lures or bait, as these birds respond only to the drive to feed their young and are highly sensitive to disturbances in their nesting habitat.

Similar Species

Species that look similar or are commonly confused with Rhinoceros Auklet.

Tufted Puffin

Larger, more colorful bill and prominent yellow head tufts; strictly diurnal (active during the day).

Pigeon Guillemot

Features bright red feet and large white wing patches; lacks the auklet's facial horn and plumes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

At their breeding colonies, they are strictly nocturnal, arriving after dusk and leaving before dawn. At sea, they can be seen foraging during daylight hours, though they are most active during the twilight periods of dawn and dusk.

Rhinoceros Auklets cannot be attracted to traditional backyards. They only come to land on specific offshore islands or coastal cliffs with suitable soil for burrowing. Protecting coastal water quality and nesting habitats is the best way to support them.

They are 'pursuit-divers' that eat small schooling fish like Pacific sand lance, herring, and anchovies. They are famous for carrying multiple fish crosswise in their bills to bring back to their chicks.

No, they are strictly marine birds. You will only see them near suburban areas if those areas are directly adjacent to the ocean in the Pacific Northwest, and even then, usually only through binoculars looking out at the water.

Rhinoceros Auklets are much more drab, with grey-brown plumage instead of the puffin's black body and white face. The auklet's 'horn' is much smaller than a puffin's massive colorful bill, and they lack the puffin's long yellow head tufts.

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