The Four Keys to ID
- Size & Shape
A large, heavy-bodied seabird, similar in shape to a loon (but smaller and shorter necked). It has a long, pointed bill, short tail, and slender, pointed wings.
Relative Size
Larger than a Pigeon or Black Guillemot, smaller than a Common Loon.
crow-sizedMeasurements
- Both Sexes
- Length: 15.0-16.9 in (38-43 cm)
- Weight: 28.2-39.7 oz (800-1125 g)
- Wingspan: 25.2-27.9 in (64-71 cm)
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library
- Color Pattern
Breeding birds are neatly marked with blackish head, face, and upperparts (dark brown when seen at close range) and clean white below. Nonbreeding adults have a pale throat and face with a dark line behind the eye. Some Atlantic adults in breeding plumage have a "bridle": a white eyering with white line extending behind it.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library - Behavior
Common Murres typically nest in dense, busy colonies crowded onto high cliff ledges. They fly with very rapid wingbeats to keep their heavy bodies aloft. They typically sit on the ocean surface between making deep dives for fish during which they flap their wings for propulsion.
- Habitat
Spends most of its life on the open ocean—often far out to sea, although some individuals can often be spotted from shore. Breeds on oceanside cliffs and islands.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay Library
Regional Differences
Worldwide, five subspecies are described, three of which occur in North America. Pacific-nesting subspecies include californica, which breeds from California to southern British Columbia; and inornata, which breeds from northern British Columbia to Alaska and eastern Asia. In the Atlantic, the smaller aalge breeds in northeastern North America east to Russia. The other subspecies are albionis (in western Europe and the United Kingdom) and hyperborea (Norway). It's thought that the very different Atlantic and Pacific groups have been separated from one another since the Pleistocene.
