Razorbills belong to the auk family, along with guillemots and puffins. The razorbill is well-named because the edges of its hooked upper beak are very sharp, enabling it to grasp fish and defend itself against predators.

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Feeding

Razorbills eat mainly fish such as sand eels but they also eat molluscs (snail-like creatures), crustaceans (crabs etc.) and planktonic worms. Fish are carried crosswise in the bill, in the same way as the puffin does. Up to eight fish can be carried at once. Razorbills, guillemots and puffins do not compete directly for food because guillemots catch large fish, which they carry singly; puffins catch small fish and razorbills catch medium-sized fish.

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