---
title: "Alka zwyczajna"
description: "Alca torda — Ptaki. The razorbill (Alca torda) is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus Alca of the family Alcidae, the auks."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pl/animal/razorbill
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Alka zwyczajna

> Alca torda — Ptaki. The razorbill (Alca torda) is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus Alca of the family Alcidae, the auks.

- Scientific name: *Alca torda*
- Category: `birds` (Ptaki)
- Habitats: `sea` (Morze i wybrzeże)
- iNaturalist observations: 12205
- Wikidata: [Q27102](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27102)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4501](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4501)

## Names

- en: Razorbill
- de: Tordalk
- es: Alca común
- fr: Petit pingouin
- nl: Alk
- pt: Torda-mergulheira
- pl: Alka zwyczajna

## Countries with the most observations

GB (2972), CA (2284), US (1655), IS (580), NO (474), FR (468), ES (405), IE (395), DE (250), PT (221), DK (125), RU (111)

## Summary

The razorbill (Alca torda) is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus Alca of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (Pinguinus impennis). Historically, it has also been known as "auk", "razor-billed auk" and "lesser auk".
Razorbills are primarily black with a white underside. The male and female are identical in plumage; however, males are generally larger than females. This agile bird, which is capable of both flight and diving, has a predominantly aquatic lifestyle and only comes to land in order to breed. It is monogamous, choosing…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razorbill

## Photo

![Alka zwyczajna](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/razorbill/medium.jpg)

Photo: Иван Елисеев · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/292173006

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/razorbill?lang=pl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).