All The Facts And Info You Need To Know About The Common Murre
Learn all about the common murre by reading this article! In this piece, we will discuss its habitat, its behavior, and its threats.
Find out why it’s important to protect the species from harm and why they’re an excellent choice for conservation efforts.
Read on to learn more about this beautiful bird. The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean in the world, located between Africa and Europe.
Common Murre
The nest of the Common Murre is the most densely packed of any bird’s nest.
Incubating adults are feather-to-feather, and droppings from their large colonies contribute to the food chain in the surrounding waters.
These birds breed in coastal areas of Canada and Alaska. Their wintering grounds are in British Columbia and northern Ontario, but a few rare individuals may be found in Alaskan colonies.
Find out more facts and information about this fascinating bird. The chick of a common murre may be able to fly as early as 39 days old and can live up to 26 years in the wild.
These birds spend most of their lives at sea. These birds are also very vulnerable to oil spills, as they can dive as deep as 590 feet.
While they live in large colonies, their life cycle is threatened by oil spills, and they are caught in fishing nets and gill nets.
In the Pacific Ocean, the common murre breeds in coastal regions. Their breeding range extends from Alaska south to southern California, and it also reaches Labrador and Nova Scotia in Canada.
The Common Murre spends the winters far from land but is found further north in areas where cold and warm currents meet.
These birds are also found in southern California and Asia. Listed below are some common murre facts and info for birdwatchers.
Due to its low reproductive rate, the common murre has become one of the most common victims of oil spills on the Pacific coast.
Oil spills have caused major mortality in murres along the Washington coast, including the Nestucca oil spill which killed about 30,000 birds.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill killed many more, but it has had little impact on young birds.
Aside from oil spills, other threats to the common murre include overfishing and gill-netting. In addition, the common murre is also threatened by a rise in pollution from shale gas.
Habitat
The common murre is a small seabird with a dark brown to black coloration and a long, pointed bill.
The male and female are similar in appearance. The juvenile is darker than the adult, but both have downy heads. The chick leaves the nest site after about 20 days.
The male murre remains at the nest site for 14 days after the chick leaves. The chick molts twice a year. Common murres eat a wide variety of fishes, crustaceans, polychaetes, squid, and other marine organisms.
The common murre spends its winter months offshore but is present in many areas throughout the year. It usually occurs in subtropical and boreal waters.
It feeds on fish and other invertebrates and forages within 10-20 kilometers of its colonies. It dives for about a minute, reaching depths of up to 30 meters.
They often reach more than sixty meters. During the breeding season, the common murre nests on sea cliffs. The common murre nests on ledges in cliffs and sea stacks.
They also nest on bare rocks on ledges. The common murre’s excrement contains potash, a nutrient essential to the growth of many marine species, including fish and humans.
Although the common murre does not face extinction, its habitat and food sources are threatened by oil spills and pollution in the Atlantic Ocean.
A large oil spill could cause double the mortality rate of breeding adult birds but will have little effect on young. The common murre is found in Canada, Europe, and Asia.
It breeds primarily in coastal islands and is most common in Newfoundland and Labrador. The murre is also present on islands off the Pacific Coast.
They spend most of their time in the open ocean and seas and spend the winter season on land and islands. They nest on rocky ledges and sea cliffs. While the murre is active, it is rarely visible.
Behavior
A common murre’s behavior can be confusing to watch.
When they lay eggs, they do not build a nest, but instead, arrange small pebbles around the egg. The pebbles become cemented by the bird’s guano, which may help the egg stay put.
Common murres spend most of their lives at sea. They can fall up to 1,500 feet! Then, they leave the nest to mate. The common murre’s feeding behavior is similar to that of a sea otter.
The osprey that this species feeds on can range from krill to small fish. It also eats small marine crustaceans called amphipods.
This type of fish also eats pollock, arctic cod, surfperch, capelin, and shad. In addition, they also eat small fish, including squid.
In addition to the food supply, murres’ behavior can indicate how they behave in different environments.
In particular, the murres that have trouble raising chicks had low hatching and fledging success compared to their kittiwake cousins.
In addition, they had poor overall breeding success. This behavior can indicate whether murres are more likely to move to areas that have greater concentrations of available prey.
So, if you notice that murres are spending more time feeding than they are actually breeding, it could mean that the food sources are more varied and more abundant than murres would expect.
In addition to being skilled fishers, Common Murres also use their long tongues to gnaw on slippery fish. Their tongues press the fish against their denticles before swallowing it.
While most Common Murres are all-brown in breeding plumage, some Atlantic populations have “bridled” individuals with a white eyering and a white line extending back from their eyes.
Interestingly, murre eggs come in a wide range of colors, and the spots can vary from a single spot to many different patterns.
Threats
Humans used to hunt the Common Murre for its eggs and meat, but the species has recovered because of other threats.
El Nino in 1983, which wiped out many forage fish, contributed to the decline of the species’ population. Oil spills killed large numbers of murres, and gillnets sucked in countless others.
While this species can tolerate a limited amount of disturbance, it’s sensitive to human activity. The Common Murre’s breeding population is estimated to be around 4320 pairs.
Its wintering population is much higher. The bird is confined to certain breeding sites, and its population is vulnerable to oil spills and gill nets.
Both of these threats can seriously affect local populations, and they appear particularly vulnerable to oil spills. For this reason, the species is highly vulnerable to these threats.
While there are many species of seabirds in need of protection, the Common Murre is among the most vulnerable in Canada.
The species is extremely vulnerable to climate change, and its population can plummet by as much as 10% in just a few years.
In 2014, a heatwave affected the northeast Pacific and the southeast Bering Sea. In addition to this, the species’ prey population was affected by oil spills and gill-net fisheries.
As a result, many Common Murre chicks have been killed by avian predators, including California Seal Lions and Grey Seals.
The Common Murre lives in colonies where it can be seen in a line above the sea surface. During the breeding season, one parent remains with the chick.
The common murre often swims a short distance, but its wing load is very high (two grams per centimeter).
When moulting, the chicks are flightless for 45-60 days. In addition, they can dive and jump from the cliff top to the sea to feed.
Range
The common murre’s range is in western and northern North America, and it has become a critically endangered species.
In 1982, the species suffered a catastrophic decline due to an El Nino event, which was one of the strongest ever recorded.
Murre populations decreased by up to ninety percent in just one winter. While their population has recovered somewhat since then, the current trend for survival suggests a gradual decrease.
Despite the looming threat of climate change, scientists don’t believe that the species will be completely extinct anytime soon.
The Common Murre lives in colonies and is classified as a member of the Alcidae family. They weigh up to 18 oz (44 g). They are not usually kept as pets, as their habitat is very specialized.
The species is far better suited to zoos or other places that mimic its natural environment.
The common murre’s life expectancy is approximately 18 years, so keeping one in captivity is not recommended. The Common Murre lives in oceans and rocky cliffs.
Its range can vary, due to differences in temperatures between winter and summer. However, their populations are on the rise in North America.
The common murre’s range is shifting due to the lack of breeding and starvation. As a result, there is also a migratory problem for the species.
The food requirements of common murres are high, but they choose their prey carefully.
They feed mainly on small fish, including sand lance and other smelt, Pacific herring, and sardines, as well as euphausiids.
Juveniles feed on juvenile salmon and euphausiids. However, common murres have a wide range of prey.
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