Key Identification Features
- Breeding adult spectacled guillemots have a distinct appearance: their plumage is mostly dull sooty-black, with the exception of prominent white "spectacles" on the face.
- The beak is very distinctive: from the side it is broad and triangular, but it is narrow when viewed from above.
- The characteristic bright orange bill plates and other distinct facial features develop in spring.
- It closely resembles the related Craveri's murrelet, and both species share the distinction of being the southernmost-living of all auk species.
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