This small seabird is in the family Alcidae (the northern counterparts of the penguins). They are winter residents in the inland waters of Washington and British Columbia where they feed primarily on euphasids and small fish like sand lance, smelts, shiner perch and juvenile rockfish. They breed only on the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia where they excavate nesting burrows. Introduced rat species have drastically reduced some ancient murrelet breeding colonies. The Canadian Committee for the Status of Endangered Wildlife lists them as species of special concern and they are considered vulnerable in British Columbia (blue list). For more information on this species visit the Canadian Species at Risk website.