The close association of the marbled murrelet and old growth coastal forests and the science and conservation work done make the murrelets truly an iconic bird in redwood national and state parks.
Marbled murrelets biome.
Although it is fairly common off the northern pacific coast its nesting behavior was essentially unknown until the 1970s.
It has a dark brown to black dorsum and a white venter and throat.
A strange mysterious little seabird.
Key tree species for nesting are douglas fir alaska yellow cedar western redcedar western hemlock mountain hemlock sitka spruce and coast redwood.
It is a member of the auk family.
The marbled murrelet is a very small chubby sea bird that seems to lack a neck.
Epiphytic moss is important for marbled murrelets nesting.
Marbled murrelets are long lived seabirds that spend most of their life in the marine environment but use old growth forests for nesting.
The marbled murrelet brachyramphus marmoratus is a small seabird from the north pacific.
The nonbreeding plumage includes a strip of white between the back and the wing thus the name marbled.
In the pacific northwest now known to nest high in trees in old growth forest several miles inland from coast.
These plants only grow in moist forests usually where winter rains are plentiful and fog is common.
Even where numerous it is usually seen on the water in pairs or aggregations of pairs not in large flocks.
Throughout their range marbled murrelets are opportunistic feeders and utilize prey of diverse sizes and species.
It nests in old growth forests or on the ground at higher latitudes where trees cannot grow.