Diet
The common murre uses its torpedo-shaped body to dive underwater and catch prey like squid, krill, small fish, marine worms,
shrimp, and mollusks. It uses its wings to help it swim, or "fly" underwater.
Life Cycle
The male and female common murre court each other by bowing and preening their feathers. It nests in large colonies on rocky ledges and cliffs. The female lays a single egg in a shallow depression in on the ground.
The egg can be green, blue, brown, white, or cream, and is shaped like a pear! It the eggs is disturbed, it won't roll off the cliff! Instead it pivots around on its pointed end in a circle. Both the male and the female incubate the egg for 28-35 days. Both the male and the female care for and feed the chick until it fledges at 18-25 days. They bring the chick three to five fish each day. When the chick is ready to fledge, the male swims below the cliff and calls out to it. The chick then hurls itself off the cliff edge and drops
800 to 1,000 feet
into the ocean, where it swims out to its father! The male stays with the chick and cares for it and feeds it until it is able to fly at 39-46 days. Scientists think the common murre leaves the nest before it can fly or feed itself because it is too difficult for the adults to continue to bring it enough food on land. The common murre mates when it is 5-6 years old.
Behavior
The common murre has to run across the surface of the water to take off in flight, but once it is in the air, it is a strong flier. On land, it stands upright and looks like a penguin! The common murre is built for swimming and diving. It can stay underwater for up to a minute and can dive to about 150 feet.
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