Crested Murrelet

Breeding sites are crevices, burrows and hollows in rocks, the gaps in piles of stones, and among grasses on uninhabited islands. The northern limit of the breeding sites are the Nanatsujima Islands of Japan, while the most important breeding sites are Biro Island and the Izu Islands.

The Crested Murrelet is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

Crested Murrelet is a small bird that inhabits rocky islets and reefs in the warm waters of Japan, Russia and South Korea. It has black and bluish grey upper body and white underparts plumage. Breeding sites are crevices, burrows and hollows in rocks, the gaps in piles of stones, and among grasses on uninhabited islands. The northern limit of the breeding sites are the Nanatsujima Islands of Japan, while the most important breeding sites are Biro Island and the Izu Islands. More

Images Crested murrelet swimming on ocean surface A small, plump bird, the crested murrelet has black and bluish-grey upperparts, fading to greyish flanks and a white throat and underparts. During the summer, the feathers of the head and the crest darken to black, and white stripes run from the top ... More

Crested murrelet swimming on ocean surface Crested murrelet swimming on ocean surfacePrint factsheet Facts - Also known as: Japanese murrelet Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Charadriiformes Family Alcidae Genus Synthliboramphus (1) More

confusion with Crested Murrelet if other features had not been well seen), two Rhinoceros Auklet (both briefly), two Spectacled Guillemot (again very briefly, both in flight and neither photographed), one very probable female Long-tailed Duck (NM only) and one unidentified distant Murre (NM and RN). More