An Emaciated Spectacled Guillemot Cepphus carbo along the Beach in Niigata Prefecture, Honshu in Winter

Abstract

An oil-polluted Spectacled Guillemot was found emaciated on the coast of Niigata Prefecture on 5 February, 1994. This is the first record of this species for Niigata Prefecture, even though it probably winters along the coast of the Japan Sea in western Honshu. The bird did not seem to have suffered any damage to its body and internal organs, but it died soon after it was found. It did not have any food in the stomach or gut, and its body weight was low.