The Marbled Murrelet is a small seabird that catches small fish at sea and nests in mature forests. In California, Oregon, and Washington, it forages near shore and breeds in coastal forests.
In the breeding season, both sexes have sooty-brown upperparts with dark bars and light, mottled underparts. In winter, adults have brownish-gray upperparts and white patches on the shoulder feathers.
Marbled Murrelets feed at sea and nest in forests near the coast. In northern California, a study used tree height and density to estimate where redwood timberlands could provide nesting habitat. Researchers used airborne LiDAR measurements to map the height of individual trees across the study area.
Patches with a higher predicted likelihood of murrelet use contained more trees at least 60 metres tall. They also had a greater combined height of trees at least 50 metres tall and more variation among the heights of those trees. The model agreed closely with known patches where indirect evidence of nesting had been recorded.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In a northern California suitability model, patches with more trees at least 60 metres tall and greater combined height among trees at least 50 metres tall had higher predicted likelihood of Marbled Murrelet use.