A Fragrance of Murres

Birdorable Common Guillemot

We've added another cutie to Birdorable, the Common Murre, also known as the Common Guillemot. These sea birds can be found in low-Arctic waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, all over the northern hemisphere. They spend most of their lives out at sea and only come to land to breed on rocky cliffs or islands, where they get together in huge groups, which are called a 'bazaar', or a 'fragrance' of murres. Check out this incredible photo of thousands of murres at Point Reyes National Seashore, approximately 30 miles north of San Francisco.

Guillemot 1
Common Guillemot

From their nest site they fly as far as 125 miles to look for food for their chicks. They are excellent divers. Using their wings for propulsion they can dive as deep as 600 feet to forage for food. Check out this neat video of Guillemots diving underwater at Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland in England.


Video of diving guillemots at the Farne Islands

The Birdorable Murre is available on t-shirts and other apparel in two different designs:

Comments

aga on January 13, 2009 at 11:45 AM wrote:
cool so sweet ;)
Ashira on January 13, 2009 at 6:41 PM wrote:
They are so, so cute! : D Nice pictures - I didn't know they could fly that well.
animtreebird on January 16, 2009 at 1:59 AM wrote:
Very beautiful bird. Nice photo. :)))
Reed on May 14, 2020 at 5:54 PM wrote:
What about that gull in the background?
Spurwing Plover on January 24, 2022 at 6:45 AM wrote:
They Fly They Swim They Walk

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