This is an alcid, or web-footed diving bird, more specifically, it is a Murre.
Murres are ocean-going birds that nest on cliffs, so when you see them at the beach on the rocks, they are likely on the rocks figuratively as well as literally.
If a Murre is sitting on a beach, it is probably in some kind of distress, so if you see one, keep a respectable distance and call your local wildlife rescue to ask what you can do to help the bird.
Murres eat small fish which they catch by diving 100+ feet down in the ocean.
From 2014-2016, there was a massive Murre die-off on the west coast from California to Alaska because of The Blob, a warm water mass that took up residence from Hawaii to California. The Blob set off a chain of events that caused part of the ocean food web to collapse, so 1 million Murres starved to death. Thank you global warming.
But back to Murray….
This Murre (Murray) spent a quiet night in a box in my bathroom before moving to Wildcare in the morning for veterinary care.
@WildcareBayArea is awesome, so if you live in the Bay Area, I encourage you to go to their website and donate!
The happy ending for Murray is that he gets to spend a few months at the International Bird Rescue Centre, recover his health, and re-grow his wing feathers, which were quite damaged from his stay on the rocks.
He should be back home in the ocean in a few months time.