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''Brachyramphus'' is a small genus of seabirds from the North Pacific. It consists of three species: * Marbled murrelet, '' Brachyramphus marmoratus'' * Long-billed murrelet ''Brachyramphus perdix'' * Kittlitz's murrelet, '' Brachyramphus brevirostris'' These are unusual members of the auk family, often nesting far inland in forests or on mountain tops. The long-billed murrelet was considered conspecific with the marbled murrelet until 1998, when Friesen ''et al.'' showed that the mtDNA variation was greater between these two forms than between marbled and Kittlitz's murrelets. These species breed in the subarctic North Pacific. They tend to remain coastal in winter, either staying near the breeding grounds, or, in the case of long-billed, migrating to the coast of Japan. Two prehistoric species have been described from Late Pliocene fossils, found in the San Diego Formation of the southwestern USA: ''Brachyramphus dunkeli'' and ''Brachyramphus pliocenum'' ==Description== These are small chunky auks, no more than 25 cm long. Like other auks, they have plumage that varies by season. The non-breeding appearance is typically white underneath with mainly black upperparts. The breeding plumage is distinctive in this group; most auks are strongly contrasted with black and white when breeding, but ''Brachyramphus'' species are mainly brown, with pale feather edges giving a scaly appearance; the central underparts, normally below the surface on a swimming bird, are white. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brachyramphus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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