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Common murre

Uria aalge · Murres · Migratory game birds

Common murre (Uria aalge): Charcoal above and white below, sharply two-toned in summer with more white on the face in winter. Length about 40-45 cm. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the common murre map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Two common murres on a rock above the sea
Adobe Stock · Free asset, Standard License (asset 335222341)
Scientific name
Uria aalge
Family
Alcidae
In North America
Native
Range
Breeds along North Pacific coasts from the Bering Strait south to central California and the North Atlantic from western Greenland and Iceland south to Newfoundland; some birds reach New England waters and southern California in winter.
Biology

How to identify it

Charcoal above and white below, sharply two-toned in summer with more white on the face in winter. [1][2]

Length about 40-45 cm. [1][2]

Similar Thick-billed Murre is very close; compare to loons. [1][2]

Compared with the thick-billed murre: Slightly thicker bill with a white mark at the gape, blacker back, and often more black on the face in winter. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a common murre before you act. Compared with the thick-billed murre: Slightly thicker bill with a white mark at the gape, blacker back, and often more black on the face in winter.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Ocean and large bays, favoring cool waters over the continental shelf, offshore and rather near the coast; tends to avoid pack ice. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Purring or murmuring call (hence the name), plus a guttural croak and higher bleat [1][2]

Forages swimming underwater, diving over 150 ft; eats herring, cod, capelin, sand lance and other fish, plus crustaceans, worms and squid [1][2]

Nests on cliff ledges and flat bare rock atop sea stacks; permanent resident in many areas but must leave northern western-Alaska colonies when waters freeze [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Breeds along North Pacific coasts from the Bering Strait south to central California and the North Atlantic from western Greenland and Iceland south to Newfoundland; some birds reach New England waters and southern California in winter.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society

  2. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe