2011 Volume 43 Issue 1 Pages 1-21
Historical and recent records of occurrence of Kittlitz's Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris in southeastern Russia and Japan were reviewed to better describe movements and vagrancy south of their breeding range in Russia. Small numbers have occurred recently and historically off the southeastern Kamchatka Peninsula at or near the southern end of the breeding range. We clarified that two 1828 type specimens were collected by F. H. von Kittlitz at either Petropavlovsk or northeastern Kamchatka. Only 13 specific records (10 confirmed, 3 unverified but credible) are available south of the breeding range, with 11 records since 1975. Near the south end of the Kamchatka Peninsula, only one confirmed record is known at Vestnik Bay (1972). At Sakhalin Island, three confirmed records were at Kholmsk (1986; 40 km offshore), Moneron Island (1986; 43 km offshore), and Chaivo Bay (1999). In the Kuril Islands, confirmed records were found for Paramushir Island (1928), Kunashir Island (2009), and an unspecified locality and date (<1890). For Hokkaido, early reports (<1890) were later found to be misidentifications or from the Kuril Islands; no other historical records were found prior to 1975. Five recent records (1975–2004; two confirmed, three unverified but credible) off northeastern Hokkaido were collated, with one record 65 km offshore (Tokachi/Kushiro Bay—March 1999). Very small numbers recorded in the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Island and Hokkaido (within 1,500 km of nearest suspected breeding areas) apparently reflect individuals that moved further south than normal in certain years but still within cold waters projecting south to Hokkaido. One other confirmed 2004 record near Tokyo Bay (∼950 km south of eastern Hokkaido) apparently was a long-distance vagrant, possibly related to unusual weather conditions. Future well-documented records are needed to develop a more solid baseline for monitoring changes in southern occurrences of the Kittlitz's Murrelet in eastern Asia.
