Re-Evaluation of the First Three Marbled Murrelet Nests Reported in British Columbia

Abstract

Abstract In northern British Columbia, nests of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) were first reported in burrows at Marble Island (1901), Cox Island (1920), and Banks Island or Porcher Island (1921), but none were subsequently accepted, and the 1901 and 1920 nests were considered to be Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus) nests. We collated and reconsidered available information on these 3 nests (including obscure literature, recently uncovered correspondence, and museum records) to re-evaluate their authenticity and clarify past literature, concluding that the 1920 nest should be considered the first possible but unverified nest of the Marbled Murrelet, whereas 1901 and 1921 nests were more convincingly dismissed as belonging to Ancient Murrelet and probably Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), respectively. The 1901 nest also represented the first documented breeding of the Ancient Murrelet in British Columbia, actually at the Limestone Islands.