Common Murre, Uria aalge


Common Murre
Above, an adult molted to non-breeding plumage by September; below, a first-cycle bird on the same date. The plumages are very similar, but the adult is browner where the immature bird is more black, and the dark stripe from the crown to the back is solid in the adult, broken by the white nape in the immature. Non-breeding plumage distinguished from breeding by white cheeks and throat, where breeding plumage birds have all dark head and throat.
 

Common Murre


Common Murres
Breeding plumage birds in flocks, swimming above, flying below, near the enormous breeding colony of this species in the Farallon Islands, around 150,000 birds, just 27 miles west of San Francisco. Being this near the metropolis was almost fatal to the breeding colony in the late nineteenth century, when egg collecting and hunting of the birds reduced the population to 11,000 birds. The rebound of the colony as a result of protection is a conservation success story.


Common Murres


Common Murres
Common Murres lined up on cliff ledges of Southeastern Farallon Island, home to the great nesting colony of this species, as well as Western Gulls, Brandt's Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, and several other species of seabirds, including small numbers of the spectacular Tufted Puffins. The island is home to a biological research station but is closed to the public; visitors can view the island and its remarkable wildlife from boats offshore, as I did when these pictures were taken.



Common Murre
Above is a disabled Common Murre found on the beach north of the Salinas River mouth on the shore of Monterey Bay. The stains on the bird are not oil, but broken and unpreened feathers characteristic of an injured or starving bird. Because the Central California coast is a major breeding area for Common Murres, fluctuations in the food supply (mostly fish) often lead to these birds being found sick or dead on the coastal beaches, sometimes in large numbers. Birds found still alive can sometimes be rehabilitated; you can report them to your local wildlife rehab center.