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Species of the month

Japanese Murrelet

Synthliboramphus wumizusume

Some facts on this seabird:

Length: 24 cm.

Weight: 164 grams.

Diet: Zooplankton and small fish.

Range: Breeds on small islands off the coasts of Japan and South Korea.

Survivng number: 5,000-6,000.

Conservation status: Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1).

First described: By the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1836, who originally named it Uria wumizusume.

Synthliboramphus wumizusume wears a stylish long black crown of feathers. It nests in cracks and holes in rocks, where it lays two eggs, a week apart. The incubation is shared by both male and female for a month. The chicks remain in the nest for only two days without being fed and then are led by the parents to the sea. The colonies of this bird are small and are diminished by introduced species such as rats and rabbits and disturbance due to increasing sport fishing activities. The genus Synthliboramphus contains four species, all seabirds, that belong to the auk family Alcidae.

(Archived from Template:Species of the week)