Long-billed Murrelet

Kamtschatkamarmelalk ( Brachyramphus perdix )

The Kamtschatkamarmelalk ( Brachyramphus perdix ), also called Langschnabelalk, is a monotypic species of the family of the Auks. The species has long been considered a subspecies of Marmelalks, which occurs on the North Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to California, while the Kamtschatkamarmelalk of Kamchatka is common to Hokkaido. Findings based on mtDNA and allozymes showed, however, that this is more closely related to Kurzschnabelalk and Kamtschatkamarmelalk is a sister species of the two. All three species, however, are very closely related, the split into different types occurred within the last two to three million years.

Similar Marmelalk and Kurzschnabelalk, the Kamtschatkamarmelalk on an unusual for Auks breeding behavior. It breeds usually in old forests far inland. The exact population figures are unknown. However, as the least sensitive of the three species of the genus Brachyramphus it applies. The IUCN classified the species currently a threat as low ( near threatened ).

Appearance

The Kamtschatkamarmelalk reaches a body length of 25 centimeters. This is therefore a very small Auk, but about 20 percent heavier than the Marmelalk. The legs sit very far back on the body, so that the nature of moves clumsily on land. Floating Kamtschatkamarmelalken have with her beak upwards, the tail jutting out from the water and is usually erected. The beak is black and pointed. Compared with the very similar Marmelalk the beak is longer. Flying Kamtschatkamarmelalken have a very fast wing-beat frequency.

In breeding plumage the Kamtschatkamarmelalk is white with a dense black-brown mottling. He has in this case a lower proportion than the reddish brown Marmelalk. The simplicity dress is black and white, the black head coloration extends it over the eye from. Neck, trunk, and upper wing-coverts are dark, lacks especially the indistinct neck band which is characteristic of the Marmelalk. Kamtschatkamarmelalken point behind the eye to a small white patch which is somewhat more pronounced than in the Marmelalken.

Dissemination

The Kamtschatkamarmelalk is a breeding bird of the North Pacific. Its breeding range extends along the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin to Hokkaido, where this species breeds sporadically. During the winter months the northern breeding birds move south to avoid the ice.

Kamtschatkamarmelalken are frequently observed well outside of their range. Secured observations there are in North America, among others, from Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Newfoundland. In the individual found in a fishing net in Lake Zurich in December 1997, it is probably a Kamtschatkamarmelalk. The bellows is now in the Basel Natural History Museum. A second living individual appeared in early November 2006 in Devon, England, and was observing it over several days.

Reproduction

Similar to the Marmelalk the Kamtschatkamarmelalk is a predominantly tree- nesting Art He uses this as a nest tree very old trees. The nest is located in the upper part of the tree on a thick branch. Breeding places of Kamtschatkamarmelalken are often very far inland. The incubation period is about a month, the young bird is fed about one months of the adult parent birds. The route to the sea is the young bird without parental support birds.

Inventory and Bestandsgefährung

There are no population figures for the Kamtschatkamarmelalk. The IUCN believes, however, that some ten thousand birds of this species exist: During Kamtschatkamarmelalk on the coast of Hokkaido is a rare bird, he is to observe numerous on the coasts of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. There are several regions in Russia, where it is even considered as a relatively frequent. This includes the estuary of the Amur and the Kamchatka Peninsula. In the region of Sakhalin, the species is much less common.

The existence-threatening factors include the felling of old growth forests, which takes place increasingly in particular on Sakhalin and Kamchatka. The species is also threatened by oil pollution.

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