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The Call of the Marbled Murrelet

February 10, 2014 Maria Mudd Ruth
A Marbled Murrelet in breeding plumage.                                   …

A Marbled Murrelet in breeding plumage.                                        Art by Virginia P. Ruth 2013

Click below to listen to the calls of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus). You will here the classic "keer" call as well as the murrelet's impersonation of a duck playing a kazoo (that's what I call it). There are also a few squawks of Steller's jays toward the end of the recording. (Note: at about 1'20" the calls repeat until the end of the recording).

This is a good time of year to start learning the calls of this unusual seabird before it moves closer to our Pacific Coast shores...and then into the mature and old-growth coastal coniferous forests to nest. If you are hiking in these forests, you are likely to hear Marbled Murrelets before you see them. They are fast-flying, camouflaged, and active in the early morning, around dawn when they fly to and from the ocean to their nesting branch high up (and out of sight) in the trees.

Tags Marbled Murrelet calls, Brachyramphus marmoratus, Marbled Murrelet vocalizations
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Flying from Mountaineers Books this Spring—the story of the Pigeon Guillemot—the world’s most charismatic alcid. This non-fiction natural history will be on bookshelves and available from online retailers on April 7, 2026. Click a link below to pre-order a copy now from these purveyors:

Mountaineers Books (non-profit, indie publisher based in Seattle)

Browsers Books (Olympia’s indie bookstore)

Bookshop.org (support your local bookstore)

Barnes & Noble (in the book biz since 1971)

Amazon


A Sideways Look at Clouds from Mountaineers Books

A Sideways Look at Clouds from Mountaineers Books

Rare BirdORDER TODAY >>

Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet

“Compelling…  engaging.” —Library Journal

“Rare insights into the trials and joys of scientific discovery.” —Publisher’s weekly

Learn more about Rare Bird...

Enjoy this song by Peter Horne, "Little Bird, Little Boat, Big Ocean.” Written about the Marbled Murrelet, but the lyrics work well for the Pigeon Guillemot, too.


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