Bird name:

Ancient Murrelet

Synthliboramphus antiquus

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Auks, Murres and Puffins (Alcidae)

Code 4

ANMU

Code 6

SYNANT

ITIS

177008

Breeding Location:

Lakes, Rocky places, Rivers

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Uncommon to common

Egg Color:

Light to olive brown, sometimes speckled.

Number of Eggs:

1 - 2

Incubation Days:

32 - 36

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with dry grass, twigs, and leaves.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Ancient Murrelet: Small, pelagic seabird with black head and dark gray back and wings. White underparts extend up onto face as a cheek patch. Bill is short and yellow. Sexes are similar. An open ocean species vaguely resembling a small penguin that can fly.

Range and Habitat

Ancient Murrelet: Breeds on offshore islets of north Pacific and mainland shores south to central British Columbia. Spends winters south to southern California; also winters in Asia.

Breeding and Nesting

Ancient Murrelet: One to two large, light to olive brown eggs, sometimes speckled with blue and brown, are laid in a nest made of dried grass in a burrow or fallen log from late April to mid-May. Incubation ranges from 33 to 36 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Ancient Murrelet: Diet consists of small fish, crustaceans, and mollusks; forages by diving from the surface.

Vocalization

Ancient Murrelet: Emits low, shrill whistling notes.

Similar Species

Ancient Murrelet: Marbled Murrelet has dark bill and white patch on flanks.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Pelagic

The pelagic is a type of bird whose habitat is on the open ocean rather than in a coastal region or on inland bodies of water (lakes, rivers). An example of a pelagic bird is the blacklegged kittiwake.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America