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Common Guillemot
last update: Mar 24, 2009 11:25 AM
Also known as the Common Murre
Latin name: Uria aalge
Population: 18 million individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: circumpolar distribution occurring in low-Arctic, North Pacific, and North Atlantic waters, only coming to land to breed
Age/ life expectancy: approx. 20 years
Wingspan: 61-73 cm
Length: 38-46 cm
Weight: 945-1044 g
Mating/Breeding: Common Guillemots breed in colonies at high densities, nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours. They make no nest, their single egg is incubated on bare rock. Eggs hatch after about 30 days incubation. The chick is born downy, and can regulate its body temperature after 10 days. They leave the nest site in around 20 days accompanied by the male parent. Chicks cannot fly when they leave the nest but are capable of diving as soon as they hit the water. The female stays at the nest site about 14 days after the chick has left.
Eggs: The eggs vary in colour and pattern to help the parents recognize them, each egg's pattern being unique. Colours include white, green, blue or brown with spots or speckles in black or lilac. After laying, the female will look at the egg before starting the first incubation shift.
Hibernation: winter on open water in the breeding regions
Hunting Habits: pursuit diver, uses wings for propulsion underwater
Feed on: small schooling fish, such as polar cod, capelin, sand lances, sprats, sandeels, Atlantic cod and Atlantic herring. Capelin and sand lances are favourite food, but what the main prey is at any one time depends much on what is available in quantity. It also eats some molluscs, marine worms, squid, and crustaceans such as amphipods.
Predators: arctic fox, glaucous gull, and great-backed gull
Colour/Body: In breeding plumage, the nominate species (U. a. aalge) is black on the head, back and wings, and has white underparts. It has thin dark pointed bill and a small rounded dark tail. After the pre-basic moult, the face is white with a dark spur behind the eye. Birds of the subspecies U. a. albionis are dark brown rather than black, most obviously so in colonies in southern Britain. Legs are grey and the bill is dark grey. Occasionally, adults are seen with yellow/grey legs.
Subspecies: Uria aalge aalge: eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, northern British Isles and southern Norway; U. a. albionis: Southern British Isles, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal; U. a. hyperborean: Northern Norway, Northwest Russia, Barents Sea; U. a. intermedia: Baltic Sea; U. a. spiloptera: Faroe Islands; U. a. inornata: North Pacific, Japan, Eastern Russia, Alaska; U. a. californica: California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia
Interesting Trivia:
- Diving depths up to 180 m (600 ft) have been recorded and birds can remain underwater a couple of minutes.
- The egg of a Common Guillemot is so pointed at one end that when placed on a flat surface and pushed, it rolls around in a circle. Such a shape may help keep the egg from rolling off of its nesting shelf.
