Uria aalge
The Common Murre, *Uria aalge*, is a quintessential North Atlantic and North Pacific seabird, instantly recognizable by its striking black-and-white plumage. Averaging 38-46 cm (15-18 in) in length with a wingspan of 61-73 cm (24-29 in) and weighing 940-1040g (2-2.3 lbs), it possesses a slender, pointed bill and short, paddle-like legs set far back on its body, perfectly adapted for its aquatic existence. A distinctive field mark for identification is often its plain dark head and back contra...
Primarily pelagic, inhabiting cold coastal waters and open ocean, especially near breeding colonies on steep, inaccessible cliffs, rocky islands, and sea stacks.
Consists primarily of small schooling fish such as capelin, sandlance, cod, and herring, supplemented by crustaceans and marine invertebrates, caught by pursuit diving.
Common Murres are highly social, forming massive, tightly packed breeding colonies that can number in the hundreds of thousands on sheer cliff faces, minimizing individual exposure to predators. They are diurnal foragers, spending most of their day diving for fish, and typically roost on cliff le...
The Common Murre boasts an expansive circumpolar distribution, breeding across the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. In the North Atlantic, colonies stretch from the British Isles and Brittany eastward to the Kola Peninsula, and westward from Atlantic Canada (Newfoundland, Labrador) to Gre...
Least Concern
- The Common Murre's single, pear-shaped egg is designed to roll in a tight circle on narrow cliff ledges, preventing it from falling off. - Chicks, known as 'jumplings' or 'fledglings', leap from cliffs up to 300 meters (1000 feet) high to the sea, often before they can fly, to join their father...