Sitka/Long-billed Murrelet

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Sitka/Birds: Long-billed Murrelet

Sitka Summary: Single report of sight observation at Halibut Point Recreation Area, 4 October 2010.

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Sitka Long-billed Murrelet


A bird observed on 4 October 2010 by Lucy Pizzuto-Phillips was thought to be this species. Though no pictures were obtained, she described the bird as follows: It had a darkish head, white front with no collar, a darkish back which had a darker patch further back and there was some white on the folded wings. When the bird stretched its wings we could see that the body was white. It also 'yawned' and I got a good look at its bill. It seemed very thin and long. Looks to me like a first-winter bird. There's a nice photo of one on page 400 of my Birds of Western North America: A Photographic Guide by Paul Sterry and Brian E. Small in the Out of the Ordinary section at the back of the book. Comparing this photo with photos of the first-winter marbled murrelets is interesting because this bird didn't have a collar of any kind like the marbled ones do.