Bird name:

Thick-billed Murre

Uria lomvia

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Auks, Murres and Puffins (Alcidae)

Code 4

TBMU

Code 6

URILOM

ITIS

176978

Breeding Location:

Lakes, Rocky places, Rivers

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Common to abundant

Egg Color:

White, tan or blue-green with dark markings.

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

28 - 35

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

No nest materials.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Thick-billed Murre: Medium-sized seabird with black upperparts, head and neck, and white underparts. A thin, white stripe extends from bill to cheek. Wings are black. Sexes are similar. Pacific birds have a slightly longer and thinner bill. Winter adult and juvenile have white throats and fore necks.

Range and Habitat

Thick-billed Murre: Breeds on the Arctic coast south to southern Alaska and Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Spends winters on coasts south to southern Alaska and New Jersey; also in Eurasia. Found along rocky coasts.

Breeding and Nesting

Thick-billed Murre: One large white, tan, blue or green egg marked with brown and black is laid on a narrow ledge; nests in dense colonies. Incubation ranges from 28 to 35 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Thick-billed Murre: Diet consists of small fish and planktonic crustaceans. May feed far from breeding colonies; forages by diving from the surface and swimming underwater.

Vocalization

Thick-billed Murre: The main vocalization of this murre is a soft purring. On the breeding grounds, croaks, growls and moans are also made.

Similar Species

Thick-billed Murre: Common Murre has thinner, longer bill and lacks white point protruding onto throat; when breeding, also has a white eye-ring and stripe behind eyes; in winter, has paler face and thin, dark line behind eyes; at close range in all plumages, lacks the thin, white line on bill. Razorbill has heavier bill, whiter flanks, and pointed tail.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America