This little seabird is the most numerous of North America's five murrelet species. Known for its odd breeding habits, the Ancient Murrelet is the only member of the auk family to raise its young entirely at sea. White eyebrow-like feathers on the head, combined with its shawl-like gray back earned it the nickname "the old man" in generations past; these same features are responsible for the bird's present day moniker.

The breeding range of the Ancient Murrelet extends around the entire northern Pacific Rim, stretching from the Sea of Japan to British Columbia. In North America, its breeding range spans Alaska's Aleutian Islands and southern mainland coast, as far south as Vancouver Island. In the Aleutians, the species can be locally common, breeding in over 50 locations. British Columbia, however, is home to at least half of the global population. In winter, the Ancient Murrelet can be found in coastal waters as far south as southern California. The Ancient Murrelet may be far more common in the North American portion of its range.

 

A legend for the range map to the right can be found here.

Ancient Murrelet populations are decreasing overall. In Asia, there has been little recent effort to survey breeding colonies, but the species is thought to be in immediate danger of extirpation in China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. Populations from eastern Russia to the Aleutian Islands and southern Alaska seem to be relatively stable. In British Columbia, trends are mixed. While the Queen Charlotte Islands host an estimated 256,000 pairs, numbers were significantly higher a half-century ago. Predation by introduced species has taken a toll on breeding colonies in this critical region. The Ancient Murrelet has been a Species of Special Concern in Canada since 1993.

Like all coastal seabirds, the Ancient Murrelet is particularly vulnerable to contamination from offshore oil spills. Impacts are currently more devastating to the species in Asia than in North America. Habitat loss is another concern; North American populations have again fared far better, as many of these Ancient Murrelets breed within areas protected by the American and Canadian governments. Human disturbance can have a tremendously negative effect upon Ancient Murrelet colonies. Irresponsible commercial fishing practices are yet another threat. In British Columbia alone, 25,000 Ancient Murrelets are lost each year as "by-catch" in gill nets and other fishing gear.

 

The greatest threat to Ancient Murrelet breeding colonies comes from non-native mammalian predators such as rats and raccoons. In British Columbia, predator-free breeding colonies are expanding annually by two to ten percent. This figure is offset drastically by losses of up to 23 percent annually on islands where predators persist. In one such area, a colony of 80,000 Ancient Murrelets was decreased by half in just 12 years. This colony supported as many as 200,000 pairs prior to the introduction of Norway rats several decades ago. Recent programs have attempted to eradicate introduced predators on some breeding islands. While removal of predators curbs net loss within specific colonies, significant increases have not been documented.

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Visit our resources page for more information about this species.

Bent, A. C. 1919. Life Histories of North American Diving Birds. U.S. National Museum Bulletin No. 107.

Kaufman, Kenn. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.

Gaston, A. J. 1994. Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus). In The Birds of North America, No. 132 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.