Species: Brachyramphus marmoratus
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
A chunky seabird with a black bill and an entirely dark tail. Breeding adult is dark brown above, heavily mottled below. In winter plumage, white below, with white scapular streak on otherwise dark upperparts. Juvenile resembles winter adult but has dusky-mottled underparts, which become mostly white by the first winter. (NGS 1983).
Science Review:
Articles:
For years now, scientists have been braving the cold winter waters of Puget Sound to study one of the region's most enigmatic seabirds, the marbled murrelet. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in Washington, Oregon, and California, marbled murrelets nest in old-growth forests but find their food at sea. Much research on the birds has centered around the spring and summer breeding season, but less is known about what the murrelets do in winter. That puzzle prompted a team of scientists from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to head out on the water last January. Writer and biologist Eric Wagner joined the expedition and brought back these notes from the field.
Why did all the grebes leave? Where did they go? And what does their disappearance say about the health of the Salish Sea? Seasonal declines among some regional bird species could hold important clues to the overall health of the ecosystem.
A December 2013 report identifies marine and terrestrial bird species for use as indicators within the Puget Sound Partnership's "Vital Signs" for ecosystem health.
This article was originally published by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of its annual report Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington.
More than 70 bird species regularly utilize Puget Sound during some or all stages of their life histories, but only a portion of these are actively being investigated.
Classification
Aves
Charadriiformes
Alcidae
Brachyramphus
NatureServe
Classification
Ecology and Life History
A chunky seabird with a black bill and an entirely dark tail. Breeding adult is dark brown above, heavily mottled below. In winter plumage, white below, with white scapular streak on otherwise dark upperparts. Juvenile resembles winter adult but has dusky-mottled underparts, which become mostly white by the first winter. (NGS 1983).