The Ancient Murrelet is a North Pacific seabird. Its breeding range extends from the Sea of Japan to the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia, where it nests in burrows on islands.
It has a grey body, white throat and cheek, black chin and crown, and a yellow-tipped bill. In breeding plumage, a white line extends back from the eye.
In 2014, researchers placed geolocators on Ancient Murrelet families at four breeding colonies on Haida Gwaii, Canada. East-coast families moved south and east, staying in Queen Charlotte Sound and adjacent waters for four to six weeks. West-coast families moved north and west, leaving British Columbia waters earlier.
In June, all tracked birds moved to the eastern Aleutians, southeastern Bering Sea and waters off Kamchatka. By October–November, 33% had returned to western North America; the rest continued west to waters off Japan, Korea and northeastern China. In August, most moved north; some passed through Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Families leaving east-coast colonies stayed four to six weeks in northern British Columbia waters, which the authors identify as an area where an oil spill could affect them.