Japanese Murrelet
Encyclopedia
The Japanese Murrelet, Synthliboramphus wumizusume also known as Crested Murrelet is a small bird that inhabits rocky islets and reefs in the warm waters of Japan
, Russia
and South Korea
. It has black and bluish grey upper body and white underparts plumage.
Breeding sites are crevices, burrows and hollows in rocks, the gaps in piles of stones, and among grasses on uninhabited islands. The northern limit of the breeding sites are the Nanatsujima Islands of Japan, while the most important breeding sites are Biro Island and the Izu Islands
.
The Japanese Murrelet lays eggs in March. Clutch size is slightly less than two eggs. Incubation duty was shared almost equally by both parents. The chicks are not fed in the nest, but leave the nest one to two nights after hatching.
In 1975, this species was designated a natural treasure by Japanese government. Habitat disturbance due to increasing sport fishing activities, predation by crow
s, large gull
s and rat
s among others, gives the Japanese Murrelet its Vulnerable
status on IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES and legally protected in Japan.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It has black and bluish grey upper body and white underparts plumage.
Breeding sites are crevices, burrows and hollows in rocks, the gaps in piles of stones, and among grasses on uninhabited islands. The northern limit of the breeding sites are the Nanatsujima Islands of Japan, while the most important breeding sites are Biro Island and the Izu Islands
Izu Islands
The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōshima....
.
The Japanese Murrelet lays eggs in March. Clutch size is slightly less than two eggs. Incubation duty was shared almost equally by both parents. The chicks are not fed in the nest, but leave the nest one to two nights after hatching.
In 1975, this species was designated a natural treasure by Japanese government. Habitat disturbance due to increasing sport fishing activities, predation by crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s, large gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s and rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s among others, gives the Japanese Murrelet its Vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
status on IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES and legally protected in Japan.