Marbled Murrelets Biome

It is a member of the auk family.

Marbled murrelets biome.

The marbled murrelet is a very small chubby sea bird that seems to lack a neck. Although it is fairly common off the northern pacific coast its nesting behavior was essentially unknown until the 1970s. The marbled murrelet brachyramphus marmoratus is a small seabird from the north pacific. In the pacific northwest now known to nest high in trees in old growth forest several miles inland from coast.

It has a dark brown to black dorsum and a white venter and throat. The nonbreeding plumage includes a strip of white between the back and the wing thus the name marbled. A strange mysterious little seabird. The close association of the marbled murrelet and old growth coastal forests and the science and conservation work done make the murrelets truly an iconic bird in redwood national and state parks.

Throughout their range marbled murrelets are opportunistic feeders and utilize prey of diverse sizes and species. These plants only grow in moist forests usually where winter rains are plentiful and fog is common. Marbled murrelets are long lived seabirds that spend most of their life in the marine environment but use old growth forests for nesting. Courtship foraging loafing molting and preening occur in near shore marine waters.

Even where numerous it is usually seen on the water in pairs or aggregations of pairs not in large flocks. Its habit of nesting in trees was suspected but not documented until a tree climber found a chick in 1974 making it one of the last north american bird species to have its nest described. It nests in old growth forests or on the ground at higher latitudes where trees cannot grow.