Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Least Concern | |
| 2018 | Near Threatened | A4ab |
| 2016 | Near Threatened | A4ab |
| 2015 | Near Threatened | A4ab |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 19,500,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 22,800,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 838000-1660000 mature individuals | medium | estimated | 2021 |
| Population trend | increasing | - | estimated | - |
| Generation length | 14 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: The global population is estimated to number between 838,000–1,660,000 mature individuals, or 1,257,000–2,490,000 total individuals, derived from flyway population estimates (Wetlands International, 2021). The European population is estimated at 519,000–1,070,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International in prep.). This species breeds mostly in Iceland, a population that was once believed to make up 60-70% of the global population (Costa et al. 2019); now, Iceland holds the majority in Europe (41%) but not globally due to increases elsewhere. Europe holds more than 90% of the global population.
Trend justification: This species was previously thought to be declining at a rate of 25-29% over three generations (c. 43 years). This was based largely on information from Iceland, which at that time was considered to hold c. 60% of the global breeding population, and where a national decline of 17% had been estimated between counts in 1983-1986 and 2006-2008 (Gardarsson et al., 2019), as well as a 45% decline in world's largest colony (Látrabjarg) between 2006-2009 (G. Gudmundsson in litt. 2015). Since then, however, monitoring of selected colonies between 2009 and 2017 has revealed a significant increase at Látrabjarg and a slow increase elsewhere (Kolbeinsson & Poraninsson, 2017). The population at Stora Karlsö, Sweden, has been increasing since the 1970s and now hosts up to 30% of the Baltic Sea population (Olsson & Hentati-Sundberg, 2017). It has also been suggested that the earlier decline at least partly reflected a temporary redistribution, with some birds moving from Látrabjarg to Grimsey and beyond (Skarpheoinsson, 2018).
New data collated from across Europe for the 2021 European Red List of Birds (BirdLife International in prep.) indicate that the species has increased significantly across its European range, with nine countries holding 90% of the European population reporting increases this century, and none reporting declines. Iceland still holds the largest single population in Europe (41%), but increases elsewhere (especially in the UK, Sweden, Ireland and Finland) mean it no longer holds the majority. As Europe holds >90% of the global population, and there is no sign that the small North American population is declining (Lavers et al., 2020), there is no evidence to suggest that the population is declining overall, let alone at a rate approaching 30% over three generations.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Austria | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Belgium | extant | native | yes | |||
| Canada | extant | native | yes | |||
| Croatia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Czechia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Denmark | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Egypt | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Estonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Finland | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Germany | extant | native | yes | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Hungary | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Iceland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ireland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Italy | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Japan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Latvia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Lithuania | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Malta | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Mauritania | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Montenegro | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Morocco | extant | native | yes | |||
| Netherlands | extant | native | yes | |||
| Norway | extant | native | yes | |||
| Poland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Portugal | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Serbia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Slovenia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Sweden | extant | native | yes | |||
| Tunisia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| United Kingdom | extant | native | yes | |||
| USA | extant | native | yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Rocky Shoreline | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Tidepools | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Epipelagic (0-200m) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Mesopelagic (200-1000m) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Climate change & severe weather | Storms & flooding | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Climate change & severe weather | Temperature extremes | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Energy production & mining | Renewable energy | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Causing/Could cause fluctuations | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Neovison vison | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
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| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Food - human | subsistence, national |
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | international |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Razorbill Alca torda. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/razorbill-alca-torda on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.