This striking bird, with its neat black and white breeding plumage, breeds in colonies alongside Guillemots and other seabirds.
Although the Razorbill shares a generally similar breeding distribution to Guillemot, absent only from those stretches of coast that lack suitable nesting cliffs, it has less exacting nest site preferences and occupies a slightly larger coastal range. Despite this, our Razorbill population is significantly smaller than that of Guillemot.
A significant proportion of the Razorbill population breeds here in Britain & Ireland, making our shores important in a global context.
Select a topic for more facts and statistics about the Razorbill
Summer Auks, in breeding plumage, at the shore or near to their colonies are relatively easy to identify. But in autumn and winter we tend to see them flying rapidly past, far offshore, or bobbing around in heavy seas offering poor views. When you add to this that their distinctive breeding plumage and colouring is lost, winter Auks can be a serious challenge to identify and separate.
Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Razorbill, provided by xeno-canto contributors.
Song
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The UK population increased by 40% between 1969–70 and Seabird 2000 (1998–2002). Annual counts from the Seabird Monitoring Programme suggest that numbers may have increased further since Seabird 2000, despite a shallow decrease during the first decade of the 21st century, although there are wide confidence intervals around these trends; data from the more recent Seabirds Count (2015–2021) should help confirm the recent trend once they are available (JNCC 2022).
Razorbills are largely pelagic in winter, yet were still reported around most of the coast of Britain & Ireland during Bird Atlas 2007–11. The breeding-season distribution is similar to that of the Guillemot, with breeding birds absent between Yorkshire and Dorset, where there is no suitable nesting habitat. The largest concentrations are from Flamborough Head to the Northern Isles and at many locations up the western seaboard of both Britain and Ireland.
Britain and Ireland Breeding Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Britain and Ireland Winter Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Razorbills are recorded throughout the year, though more consistently during summer at suitable coastal breeding sites.
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.
Movement
Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.
Although the UK population of Razorbills show an increasing trend, there are concerns about very low breeding productivity, particularly during the first decade of the 21st century. Low productivity is believed to be linked to food supplies, particularly of sandeels Ammodtyes marinus, which may be linked to sea surface temperatures and hence climate change. As Razorbills typically live for 13 years and can live for up to 40 years, low productivity is an early warning sign which can be expected to lead to population declines over the medium- to long-term, provided other factors such as survival remain constant.
Links to more studies from ConservationEvidence.com
RAZOR 
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