10 WATER BIRDS 
23. MARBLED MURRELET. — Brachyramphus 
marmoratus. 
Famity: The Auks, Murres, and Puffns. 
Length: 9.75. 
Adults in Summer : Above dusky, barred with rusty brown ; under parts 
white, each feather tipped with umber, producing a mottled effect. 
Adults in Winter: Above slate-gray with white band across nape ; scap- 
ulars mixed with white, and feathers of back tipped with brownish ; 
lower parts white, more or less mottled with gray. 
Young: Above uniform dark gray, with light band on nape more or less 
distinct. Lower parts white, mottled with gray. 
Geographical Distribution : Pacific coast of North America from South- 
ern California to Alaska. 
Breeding Range: From Oregon coast northward. 
Nest: In burrow in ground, or hole in bank, or crevice in cliff. 
Eggs: 1; buffy, marked with purple-brown. Size 2.14 X 1.42. 
THe Marbled Murrelet is found only in the Pacific 
Ocean, and breeds in such inaccessible places that little 
is known of its habits. The adult birds and young are 
found in numbers about Vancouver Island, but its nest- 
ing sites are difficult to find. It is more common along 
the coast of British Columbia than farther south. The 
best authorities seem to agree that the nesting habits of 
this species are like those of the ancient murrelet and 
their usual breeding grounds only a little farther south. 
In California they are common near the coast all winter 
as far south as San Diego. At Monterey we found 
them exceedingly timid, diving at the slightest alarm 
and impossible to approach. Their food consists of 
small invertebrates, which they pick from the rocks at 
some distance under water. 
