[duhv-kee] 
| 1. | a small, short-billed, black and white auk, Alle alle, of northern Atlantic and Arctic oceans. |
| 2. | British. the black guillemot. |
| dove·kie also dove·key (dŭv'kē) n. A small black-and-white sea bird (Alle alle) of the Arctic and northern Atlantic oceans, having a short bill and a stout body. Also called little auk. [Diminutive of dove1.] |
dovekie
small, black and white seabird of the North Atlantic. The dovekie belongs to the family Alcidae (order Charadriiformes). It is about 20 centimetres (8 inches) long, with a short bill. Its legs and wings are short, and its feet are webbed. It is a proficient diver, feeding on fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. Dovekies breed on rocky coasts and islands of the Arctic Ocean, from Greenland to Novaya Zemlya, Russia. They nest in large colonies, each breeding pair laying a single egg in a rock cranny on a hillside, or, on peaty ground, in a burrow.
Learn more about dovekie with a free trial on Britannica.com.
ki