Marbled Murrelet

From the Alaska Department of Fish and Game: Marbled Murrelets are in the same family as auklets, puffins and murres. All members of the Alcid family swim under water, propelling themselves with their wings, much like their Penguin counterparts in the southern hemisphere. These birds have slender black bills, long, narrow wings and short tails. Murrelets, like many birds, have two different sets of plumage. During the breeding season, adult murrelets are marbled gray-brown, providing excellent camouflage at their nests. In winter, feathers are black above, white and gray below with white shoulder patches and a white throat. Juvenile birds resemble adults in winter plumage. Marbled Murrelets have a distinctive high pitched “keer, keer” call, making them easy to identify.