Murrelet Linkages

The Long-billed Murrelet was refound at Sandy Hook today, much to the relief of many birders. Although I prefer not to attempt blow-by-blow accounts of current rarities (NJBirds and JerseyBirds do a far better job than I can), I did think it would be worthwhile to compile some murrelet links, particularly since this is such a notable bird for NJ.

Photos of Sandy Hook's latest celebrity bird by:

Sam Galick one, two, three
Jim Gilbert photos

Reference material:

Long-billed Murrelet in Ithaca, NY.

Long-billed Murrelet in Seneca County, OH.

The Long-billed Murrelet that made it all the way to Dawlish in Devon, UK. This feature on Surfbirds has lots of photos and useful links. Other photos by Dave Appleton and Jonathan Wasse.

Long-billed Murrelet id (with particular reference to head pattern) at The Bird Guide.

Long-billed Murrelet account at Ocean Wanderers.

Brief Bibliography:

In the hot-off-the-press department, the December 2006 issue of Birding World contains an account of the Dawlish Long-billed Murrelet, its initial misidentification and the subsequent twitch set off when it was correctly identified. There are great photos as well, of course. Thanks to Gail Mackiernan for the tip.

Friesen, V. L., J. F. Piatt, & A. J. Baker. 1996. Evidence From Cytochrome B Sequences and Allozymes for a 'New' Species of Alcid: The Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix). Condor 98:681-690. PDF here
Maumary, Lionel, & Peter Knaus. 2000. Marbled Murrelet in Switzerland: A Pacific Ocean Auk New to the Western Palearctic. British Birds 93:190-199.
Mlodinow, Steven G. 1997. The Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix) in North America. Birding 29:461-475.
Sealy, Spencer G., Harry R. Carter, W. David Shuford, Kevin D. Powers, & Charles A. Chase III. 1991. Long-distance Vagrancy of the Asiatic Marbled Murrelet in North America, 1979-1989. Western Birds 22:145-156. PDF here
Sibley, David. 1993. An Asiatic Marbled Murrelet in Ontario. Birders Journal 2:276-277.
Thompson, Christopher W., Kevin J. Pullen, Richard E. Johnson, & Eric B. Cummins. 2003. Specimen Record of a Long-billed Murrelet From Eastern Washington, With Notes on Plumage and Morphometric Differences Between Long-billed and Marbled Murrelets. Western Birds 34:157-168. PDF here

This post may be updated in the future with more links, especially if more photos of the Sandy Hook bird are posted.