Brachyramphus perdix
The Long-billed Murrelet, Brachyramphus perdix, is a striking and enigmatic seabird of the Alcid family, closely related to the Marbled Murrelet (B. marmoratus) from which it was split in 1998. Measuring approximately 25 cm (10 in) in length with a wingspan of about 43 cm (17 in) and weighing 200-280g, it possesses a distinctive longer, more slender bill than its Marbled counterpart. In breeding plumage, it is a beautifully mottled and barred rufous-brown, offering superb camouflage within it...
This species primarily inhabits coastal marine waters for foraging, but distinctively relies on mature and old-growth coniferous forests for breeding, often far inland.
The Long-billed Murrelet feeds primarily on small schooling fish (e.g., sandlance, herring, capelin) and marine invertebrates (e.g., crustaceans, euphausiids), caught by pursuit-diving.
Long-billed Murrelets are largely diurnal foragers at sea, though their breeding activities are highly secretive and less understood. They employ pursuit-diving techniques to capture prey, often foraging solitarily or in small, loose aggregations close to shore. During the breeding season, pairs ...
The primary breeding range of the Long-billed Murrelet encompasses the coastal coniferous forests of the Russian Far East, including areas of Kamchatka, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, and the Maritime Province. Breeding populations are also found on Hokkaido, Japan. After the breeding season...
Least Concern
- Until its nesting habits were widely understood, the Long-billed Murrelet (and Marbled Murrelet) was sometimes dubbed the "Enigma of the Pacific" due to its mysterious disappearance from coastal waters during breeding season. - It is one of the very few seabirds in the world known to nest exclu...