• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Near Threatened	A4ace
2016	Near Threatened	A4a
2014	Near Threatened	A4a
2013	Critically Endangered	A4bcde
2012	Critically Endangered	A4bcde
2010	Critically Endangered	A4b,c,d,e
2009	Critically Endangered	A4b,c,d,e
2008	Critically Endangered
2005	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	shelf island continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	5,940,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	6,840,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	32000-55000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2014
Population trend	decreasing	good	estimated	1998-2034
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	25-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	12.1 years	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The total population was recently estimated at 30,900-56,800 individuals (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2010), but when factoring in the potential proportion of birds not counted in surveys, the total population may number c.48,000-82,000 individuals (M. Kirchhoff in litt. 2014). This is assumed to equate to c.32,000-55,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Surveys had suggested that the population was undergoing an extremely rapid decline, which was projected to continue (K. Kuletz in litt. 2002; Kuletz et al. 2003; Kissling 2006; Piatt et al. undated). However, more recent surveys and analyses suggest that the population may not be declining at such a steep rate (M. Kissling in litt. 2010; M. Kirchhoff in litt. 2010), with numbers in some areas appearing to be stable (Kirchhoff et al. 2014, M. Kirchhoff in litt. 2014). Following this recent information the population is suspected to be in moderately rapid decline.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native	yes
Japan	extant	native			yes
Russia	extant	native		yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native		yes
USA	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Russia (Asian)	Odyan bay
Russia (Asian)	Senyavina Strait
USA	Glacier Bay & Icy Strait
USA	Glacier Bay Outer Coast Marine
USA	Icy Bay
USA	Kachemak Bay
USA	Prince William Sound
USA	Uganik Bay & Viekoda Bay
USA	Unimak & Akutan Passes
USA	Yakutat Bay

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Boreal	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	resident
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	resident
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	suitable	non-breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Vulpes vulpes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Kittlitz's Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/kittlitzs-murrelet-brachyramphus-brevirostris on 19/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 19/12/2024.