Birds · Charadriiformes · Alcidae
Marbled Murrelet
Brachyramphus marmoratus
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The marbled murrelet is a small auk of the North Pacific with an extraordinary life history: it feeds at sea but nests inside old-growth conifer forests, on a thick moss-covered branch of a centuries-old fir or redwood, sometimes eighty kilometres from the coast. Its nest was not discovered until 1974, which made it an ornithological mystery for almost two centuries.
Weight
190 g – 270 g
Size
24 cm – 25 cm
Lifespan
12 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Crepuscular
Active above all at dawn and dusk.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- Its nest was one of the great puzzles of North American ornithology: the species had been known since 1789 and the first nest was not found until 1974, when a worker pruning a Douglas fir in California discovered a chick on a mossy branch forty-five metres up.
- Its conservation puts it in direct conflict with the timber industry: it depends on old-growth forest with thick, mossy branches, which only exists in stands centuries old.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Coastal waters of the North Pacific; nests on mossy branches of old conifers up to 80 km inland
- Sexual maturity
- 2 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 30 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 1 egg
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachyramphus_marmoratus
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 11 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Marbled Murrelet — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Ancient Murrelet
Synthliboramphus antiquus
Scripps's Murrelet
Synthliboramphus scrippsi
Least ConcernCommon Murre
Uria aalge
Horned Puffin
Fratercula corniculata
EndangeredSea Otter
Enhydra lutris
EndangeredKiller Whale
Orcinus orca
How to help
The marbled murrelet is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 7 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about marbled murrelet.
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