The Marbled Murrelet
By: Vernice Liou
Source: http://www.island.net/~odyssey/images/Marbled_Murrelet_5a.jpg
The scientific name of the Marbled Murrelet is, "Brachyramphus Mamoratus." The Marbled Murrelet is a small and fat seabird that seems to not have a neck. It can be a dark brown to a nice black colour. It also has a curved beak. This sea bird is a member of the family, Alcidae, which includes other sea birds that eat fish and other marine organisms. Murrelets usually breed in old high top mossy trees; usually nesting in holes that contain moss. They hardly use branches for nests. In
different
places, the Marbled Murrelet is either counted as threatened or endangered. But in British Columbia, it's counted as threatened. The bird call of the Murrelet can be a sharp "keer" or a low "kee." |
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The Marbled Murrelet population ranges from the Pacific coast to central California. My studies will focus specifically on the breed in the Pacific Coast. This species depends on the ocean for food and the forests for its habitat, though logging and fisheries have made it hard. According to studies in 1997, it was estimated that we were losing about 4-7 percent of the Murrelet population each year. Regulations such as the SARA (Species at Risk Act) are possibly the only hope for them to recover. What was once a "common bird" is no more. |
Source: http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/publications/cbs/images/murrelet_mape.gif