Murre Colony, Inset Detail

This inset of the associated murre colony photo shows evidence of nesting and chick-feeding in a California common murre colony on Prince Island off San Miguel Island off Southern California. Ecologists Josh Adams and Jonathan Felis of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center shot this and other high-resolution digital telephotos from a research vessel, and used the photos to identify nesting and feeding behavior. The photographs provide evidence of the first California common murre breeding colony in the Channel Islands in 100 years. The left red circle highlights an adult murre holding a fish in its bill. The center circle highlights a murre egg fragment, with the yellowish interior of the eggshell visible. The right circle highlights another adult murre also holding a fish, possibly attempting to feed the prey to a chick.