# Tammie norrie

| Tammie norrie |
| --- |
|  |
| Adult in breedin plumage, Iceland |
|  |
| Caw o the Atlantic puffin, recordit on Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales |
| Conservation status |
|  Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) |
| Scientific classification  |
| Kinrick: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Cless: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Faimily: | Alcidae |
| Genus: | *Fratercula* |
| Species: | F. arctica |
| Binomial name |
| Fratercula arctica (Linnaeus, 1758) |
|  |
| Breedin range (orange) an winter range (yellae) |
| Synonyms |
| *Alca arctica* Linnaeus, 1758 |

 *Fratercula arctica naumanni*
A **Tammie norrie** (*Fratercula arctica*) is ony o three kins o auk (or **alcids**) in the bird genus *Fratercula* (Laitin: *wee brither* — mibbes referin tae their black an white feathers, that leuks like monastic clouts) wi a brichtly lit beak at breedin time. They are pelagic seabirds that maistlins eats bi doukin intil the sea. They breed in muckle colonies on seawart cleuchs or islands, nestin in craggy scores or in bourie ben the yird.

Aw three species o tammie norrie haes muckle beaks. They tyne the littit ooter pairts o their beaks efter breedin time, an is left wi smawer an mair dreich beaks. Their wee weengs is makkit for soumin wi a fleein gate unner the watter. In the lift, they muive their weengs fast (up tae a hunder times a meenit) in fast flicht, aft fleein laich ower the sea.

## Breedin

The male Atlantic Tammie Norrie bigs the nest an haes a strang need tae stey wi the nest. Baith sects o the Hornit Tammie Norrie gies a haund at biggin their nest. The bouries o the Atlantic an Hornit Tammie Norries is byordinar anerly aboot ae metre deep, wi a chaummer at the end, but the howe doun tae a Tautit Tammie Norrie bourie micht can be 2.75 metres lang. The Atlantic Tammie Norrie bourie is byordinar makkit wee things like girse, windlestrae, leafs, feathers an siclike, but is whiles makkit wi juist the suddle. The eggs o the Atlantic Tammie Norrie haes a reamie tint but micht can be mair o a laylock tint.

Tammie norries is unalike mony craiturs, an insteid tak lang-term pairtners. The female lees juist the ae egg, an baith paurents hauds the egg wairm an feeds the bairn. The paurent that's leukin efter the bairn hauds the egg agin their brood patch wi their weengs. The bairns gaes oot the nest at nicht. Efter lea'in, the youthie tammie norries steys oot at sea for the first puckle year o their life at sea, retourin tae breed efter three tae sieven year.

As wi mony auks, tammie norries eats baith fish an zooplankton, but maistlins feeds their bairns wi wee fish several times a day. The tammie norrie is distinct in that they can haud several (mibbes mair nor a dizzen) wee fishies at the ae time, crosswise in their beak. Acause o this they can mak langer reenges, acause they can retour wi mair smeddum for their bairns nor a bird that can anerly cairy ae fish at a time.

## Species

Three species is recognised the day:

* Atlantic Tammie Norrie, *Fratercula arctica*
* Hornit Tammie Norrie, *Fratercula corniculata*
* Tautit Tammie Norrie, *Fratercula cirrhata*

The genus *Fratercula* belike evolved in the northren Paceefic, like maist kynds o auks. Houaniver, at least twa prehistoric species that's no weel kent is kent tae hae bid in the wastren Atlantic fair suin efter the genus' beginnins:

* *Fratercula* sp. 1 (Yorktown Early Pliocene frae Lee Creek Mine, USA)
* *Fratercula* sp. 2 (Yorktown Early Pliocene frae Lee Creek Mine, USA)

Anither deid species, Dow's Tammie Norrie (*Fratercula dowi*) wis fund on the Channel Islands o California up tae the Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene. Like eneuch it dee'd acause a ower-huntin an egg-gaitherin bi early human settlers.