Common Murre

• Stands erectly about 1 foot tall and 1 Kg in weight
• Walks like a penguin
• 10 – 15 % have white spectacle and eye line (center murre above)
• Long-lived – 20 – 30 years or more
• Species’ largest extremely dense colony is on flat ground on Funk Island
• Generally mate monogamously for life
• Lays a single large pyriform egg
• Egg is incubated on rock [no nest] for about 1 month
• Highest wing-loading [weight/area] of any bird that flies
• Flies under water to capture fish
• Deepest diving bird of any bird that flies – maxi depth = 200 m
• Only penguins dive deeper
• Main food is capelin – both parents carry 1 fish at time to chick (below)
• At ~3 weeks the chick goes to sea with the male; female stays at colony
• Fledgling is independent after about 2 months
• Target of a traditional winter hunt in Newfoundland and Labrador