Ancient Murrelet

Photo by Glenn Bartley

Photo by Glen Tepke
nonbreeding plumage, Monterey Bay, California, USA, 21 January 2007

Synthliboramphus antiquus

Identification

• Black head, throat and rear neck
• Grey back
• White underparts
• Short, stubby yellow bill
• Small rounded black tail

Summer plumage adults have white head streaks. ¹

Distribution

North America, Central America, Asia
North America: Canada: British Columbia, Quebec. United States: New England, Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Washington
Central America: Mexico: Baja California
Asia: Russia, Siberia, China, Korea

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

• S. a. antiquus:

• Eastern Asia, Aleutians and southern Alaska; winters to California

• S. a. microrhynchos:

• Komandorskiye Islands; winters to Ryukyu Islands

Habitat

Open sea.

Behaviour

Breeding

The nest is a burrow excavated among tree roots, under logs or in grass tussocks, sometimes in rock crevices. One or two eggs are laid.

Diet

The diet includes small fish and crustaceans.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Answers.com
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Ancient Murrelet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ancient_Murrelet

External Links

Search for photos of Ancient Murrelet in the gallery

• View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages