Alcids Marbled Murrelet

Swift direct flight low over the water on rapid wing beats.

Alcids marbled murrelet.

Like other alcids the marbled murrelet has short wings which it uses to swim as deep as 300 feet underwater in search of small fish and invertebrates. Marbled murrelets belong to the alcid family that includes puffins murres guillemots auklets and dovekie. But somewhere in the far past a few murrelets ancestors decided that those giant woody green things just inland off the coast made pretty good nest platforms too. In some species the young go to sea when.

Murrelet any of six species of small diving birds belonging to the auk family alcidae order charadriiformes. They are sometimes called sea sparrows as are auklets. The marbled murrelet brachyramphus marmoratus is a small seabird from the north pacific it is a member of the auk family. Designed with an aquatic life in mind alcids are seabirds that come ashore only to nest.

Murrelets belong to the auk family alcidae of birds that includes puffins murres and guillemots. Feeds on fish and crustaceans. More pelagic and gregarious than marbled murrelets ancient murrelets are typically found farther out with flocks of up to 30 birds a common sight in the winter. Niche overlap and resource partitioning have seldom been investigated in the marine habitats of seabirds but are obvious determinants of community an.

All other alcids nest on isolated rocky islets or cliffs. Apart from the extinct great auk all auks can fly under water as well as in the air. Small chubby seabird with dark brown mottled upperparts and paler white tipped brown feathers on underparts giving a wavy barred appearance. Marbled murrelets and kittlitz s murrelets are unusual among the alcids in that they molt to cryptic brown plumage during the breeding season.

An auk or alcid is a bird of the family alcidae in the order charadriiformes the alcid family includes the murres guillemots auklets puffins and murrelets the word auk ɔː k is derived from icelandic álka from old norse alka auk from proto germanic alkǭ sea bird auk. In the non breeding season they are gray and black mixed with white above with white bellies. They are typically short and squat with stubby wings suited for flying underwater. At sea they are often found feeding in pairs near the shore.

Murrelets are about 20 cm 8 inches long thin billed and in winter plain plumaged. It nests in old growth forests or on the ground at higher latitudes where trees cannot grow. From october through december they are numerous in offshore areas are often visible from shore and are the most likely of washington s alcids to be found inland especially in.