Length: 9.5 inches | Wingspan: 17 inches | Seasonality: Non-resident in South Dakota |
ID Keys: Warm brownish speckling on breeding birds, dark upperparts and white underparts on non-breeding birds, dark wings at all seasons |
The
Kittlitz's Murrelet is a small seabird found around coastal Alaska at all
seasons. They are similar to the
Marbled Murrelet and are found in many of the same areas, but they are
much less widespread and common. Populations are thought to be in
sharp decline, and
the IUCN lists the species as "critically endangered". Reasons for
the decline aren't perfectly understood, but glacial recession due to
climate change is a strong contender as a threat to the species, given that
they often nest and forage in the vicinity of glaciers. Contamination
with hydrocarbons, loss of forage species, and mortality due to gill-net
fishing are also possible reasons for decline of the species.
Click below for a higher-resolution map |
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South Dakota Status: Non-resident in South Dakota |