Kittlitz's murrelet
Kittlitz's murrelet | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Alcidae |
Genus: | Brachyramphus |
Species: | B. brevirostris
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Binomial name | |
Brachyramphus brevirostris (Vigors, 1829)
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Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a small
The common name of this species commemorates the German zoologist Heinrich von Kittlitz, who first collected this species.
Description and range
The Kittlitz's murrelet is, like the marbled murrelet, a small compact auk, 25 cm (9.8 in) long with tiny legs and cryptic plumage during the breeding season. The colour of the breeding plumage, greyish-brown, reflects its habit of breeding on bare ground near snowfields. In the winter, it adopts the black and white plumage typical of many seabirds. Its bill is smaller than that of the marbled murrelet.
The Kittlitz's murrelet mostly breeds and lives in the coastal areas of Alaska, both on the mainland around Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, sparsely up the west coast and along the Aleutian Islands. It also nests in Siberia and possibly Wrangel Island.
Behaviour
The Kittlitz's murrelet feeds close to the shore, in particular in the waters around tidewater glaciers. It feeds on larval fish, krill and other small zooplankton. Chicks are fed with slightly larger fish carried in the bill.
The Kittlitz's murrelet is one of the least known auks, although it is known not to be
Threats
Until 2014, the Kittlitz's murrelet was considered to be
References
- ^ . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Twenty Years Later Many Bird Species Still Have Not Recovered from Exxon Valdez Oil Spill". American Bird Conservancy. 23 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- Gaston, Anthony; Jones, Ian (1998). The Auks, Alcidae. Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-854032-9
- Day, R. H., D. J. Kuletz, and D. A. Nigro. 1999. Kittlitz's Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris). In The Birds of North America, No. 435 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
External links
- Explore Species: Kittlitz's Murrelet at eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)