The razorbill is a medium sized auk. It is black on top and white below with a short, thick bill that has a vertical white line. There is also a white line running from the eye to the base of the top of the beak. During the winter months, the white from the throat wraps up behind the eye. While in flight, it moves fast and direct with rapid wing beats.

The species is highly marine and can only be found on land during the breeding months (March/April – August/September). In the summer months, it nests on sea cliffs in seabird colonies. They lay their eggs on the bare rock or ground and each partner take turns to forage and care for the egg. The razorbills diet is made up of fish and some invertebrates. It catches its prey by surface diving. Although it usually searches for food in the upper 20m of the water column, it has been seen hunting hundreds of meters down.

The closest relation to the razorbill is in fact the Great Auk which went extinct in the mid 19^th century. It was hunted for meat, feathers, fat and oil and as it became more scarce, it was finally driven into extinction by collectors.