Common Murre (also known as the Thin-billed Murre or Common Guillemot)

The Common Murre is a large auk known for its penguin-like upright posture, dark brown head and back, and contrasting white underparts. They spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land only to breed on crowded, sheer coastal cliffs.

Rich dark brown to slate-black upper tip with a sharp, clean white margin along the edge and a soft greyish-white downy base

Pennaceous at the upper distal tip transitioning smoothly into a plumulaceous, fluffy base with weaker hooklets

Dark, slender, and flexible rachis at the tip transitioning to white near the base with densely packed barbs

Smooth and glossy at the dark pennaceous tip, becoming exceptionally soft and silky toward the plumulaceous base

Upper back, flank, or scapular region, determined by the dark terminal coloration abruptly meeting a clean white border and downy base

Distinctive abrupt contrast between the dark slate-brown upper vane and the crisp white margin, coupled with a fluffy, downy lower section

Marine pelagic environments, rocky coastal cliffs, and cold northern oceanic waters

Circumpolar distribution across subarctic and temperate waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans

Important marine apex predator feeding on schooling fish and invertebrates, serving as a key bioindicator of marine ecosystem health

Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia) and Razorbill (Alca torda), which share similar black-and-white monochromatic plumage patterns

Common Murres lay single, highly pointed pear-shaped eggs directly on bare rock ledges; the unique shape prevents the egg from rolling off the cliff in the wind

Historically harvested for eggs and meat by indigenous coastal communities and early maritime explorers; feathers used occasionally in local crafts

Look near rocky shorelines, seabird nesting colonies, and along tidelines where oceanic drift accumulates feathers from pelagic species

Good overall condition with intact barbs at the tip and minor fraying at the fluffy base, showing little to no UV bleaching