Common Murre (Uria aalge)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Alcids

Color Photographs: U.S. Geological Survey

Common Murre (Uria aalge)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 17 inches. A large alcid about the size of a crow.

Summer Plumage: Head, neck, and back black. Bill narrow and triangular. Atlantic populations have a white ring around the eye and a fine, white line running backward from the eye. Breast and undersides white. Upper margin of breast either rounded or only slightly indented into the neck.

Winter Plumage: Similar to the summer plumage, but throat and side of the head white. Side of head with a fine, black line running back from the eye.

Similar Species:  The Common Murre is most likely to be confused with the Thick-billed Murre. At all times the bill of the Thick-billed Murre is shorter and thicker, more chisel-like than that of the Common Murre. The summer plumage Thick-billed Murre has a distinctive white line running from the base of the bill to the base of the throat. The winter versions of these two species are very similar except for the bill difference. The white markings on the face of the Thick-billed Murre are more extensive and this species lacks the fine, black line running backward from the eye. The Razorbill is similar in coloration but has a large, flattened bill with white rings and a hooked tip.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Common Murre breeds along the rocky shores of both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. In the east breeding birds are found in Labrador, Newfoundland, and south to Nova Scotia. Along the Pacific Coast the breeding range extends from southern Alaska to middle California. The species also occurs in northern Europe and Asia.

Overwintering Range:  This species spends its non-breeding time on the open ocean off the coasts of its breeding range.

Habitat: The Common Murre breeds on rocky cliffs. The rest of their time is spent on the open ocean off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts.

Food: Fish and marine invertebrates including squid and crustaceans.

Behavior: The Common Murre is the north's version of the penguin. On land they stand upright. On the ocean they are expert divers and swimmers chasing their prey underwater. They nest in large, densely packed colonies on cliffs and rocky ledges. The voice is a quiet murmuring.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of a single black marked blue-green egg. The egg is laid on a rocky ledge without a nest.