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Thick-billed murre

Uria lomvia · Murres · Migratory game birds

Thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia): About 46 cm, much like Common Murre. Slightly thicker bill with a white mark at the gape when seen close. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the thick-billed murre map

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

Scientific name
Uria lomvia
Family
Alcidae
In North America
Native
Range
Breeds on islands and coasts in the Arctic of North America and Eurasia, south to the Aleutians and Kodiak, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Newfoundland waters are the most important western Atlantic wintering area; regular in winter off New England.
Biology

How to identify it

About 46 cm, much like Common Murre. [1][2]

Slightly thicker bill with a white mark at the gape when seen close. [1][2]

Blacker back (hard to see without direct comparison). [1][2]

In summer may show white coming up higher in a point on the chest; in winter may show more black on the face than Common Murre. [1][2]

Compared with the common murre: Slightly thinner bill without the white gape mark; less black on the face in winter; avoids pack-ice areas. [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 thick-billed murre before you act. Compared with the common murre: Slightly thinner bill without the white gape mark; less black on the face in winter; avoids pack-ice areas.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Ocean, favoring very cold Arctic waters and often far from land over deep water when not nesting; associates with edges of pack ice; nests on rocky coasts and islands with steep cliffs. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Nests colonially on ledges of sea-cliff; some remain through winter as far north as open water allows, including around openings in pack ice, others move south [1][2]

Forages swimming underwater, diving more than 200 ft; eats mostly fish (cod, herring, capelin, sand lance) with more crustaceans in winter [1][2]

Low purring murrrr, plus croaks and growls at breeding colonies [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 on islands and coasts in the Arctic of North America and Eurasia, south to the Aleutians and Kodiak, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Newfoundland waters are the most important western Atlantic wintering area; regular in winter off New England.

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