Marbled Murrelet

Marbled Murrelet, adult; breeding plumage; Seward, Alaska in July

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Marbled Murrelet, non-breeding adult ; Monterey Bay, CA; August

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Behavior
8. Reproduction
9. Conservation Status
10. Other Names

A chunky Pacific seabird, the Marbled Murrelet is unique among alcids (puffin relatives) in nesting high up in large trees in coastal forests. Little-known until the past few decades, it now is thought to be seriously threatened by logging.

Cool Facts

• The Marbled Murrelet usually nests in trees greater than 200 years in age.

• Though the Marbled Murrelet was first described in 1789, a nest site of the species was first discovered and formally documented only in 1974. The egg, however, was known in 1898, when a bird was shot that contained a complete egg in its oviduct.

• The Marbled Murrelet was once known as the "Australian Bumble Bee" by fishermen and as the "fogbird" or "fog lark" by loggers.

Description

• Size: 24-25 cm (9-10 in)
• Weight: 258-357 g (9.11-12.6 ounces)

Small plump waterbird. Short, pointed bill. Short, pointed tail. Breeding adult sooty brown on upperparts, mottled brown on underparts. Nonbreeding adult with blackish upperparts, white underparts. White extends up sides of head, almost all the way around the nape.

Narrow, pointed wings.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Similar to non-breeding adult, but underparts lightly speckled, not clean white.

Similar Species

• Kittlitz's Murrelet very similar, but has a shorte bill, is paler and buffier in breeding plumage, and has a white face in nonbreeding plumage.
• Long-billed Murrelet, once considered the same species, is slightly larger with a longer bill, has plainer breeding plumage with no buffy or rusty feather edges, and in nonbreeding plumage is less extensive white around the face and nape, with white eye-arcs.

Sound

Common call is a smooth "keer," sometimes uttered as two syllables. Also issues a short, forceful whistle-like note at the nest.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Nests along Pacific coastline from Alaska to central California. Also found in nearshore waters of Pacific Coast of North America.

Winter Range

Present around breeding range year-round. Specific movements and winter distribution are poorly understood.

Habitat

Breeds in coniferous forests near coasts, nesting on large horizontal branches high up in trees. Winters at sea.

Behavior

Foraging

Dives underwater to capture prey, using its wings to swim.

Reproduction

Clutch Size

Condition at Hatching

Covered in down, can walk, but stays in nest.

Conservation Status

Logging and development of forested nesting habitat are considered the greatest threats to this species. Significant portions of nesting areas have already been lost. Oil spills and entanglement in gill-nets are also major risks. Listed as "endangered" by the state of California, and as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Other Names

Guillemot marbré (French)

Sources used to construct this page:

Nelson, S. K. 1997. Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus). In The Birds of North America, No. 276 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists Union, Washington, D.C.