Thick-billed murre

The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies Uria lomvia arra is also called Pallas' murre after its describer.

Distribution

Region

Arctic and Subarctic Oceans

Typical Environment

Breeds on coastal cliffs and sea stacks around the high Arctic of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, including Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Russia. Outside the breeding season it disperses southward to subarctic and cold temperate seas, often along the pack-ice edge. It forages primarily over continental shelf waters and productive upwelling zones. Colonies are typically on narrow ledges with immediate access to open sea. Winter distribution tracks areas with high prey availability and reduced ice cover.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 600 m

Climate Zone

Polar

Characteristics

Size40–46 cm

Wing Span64–73 cm

Male Weight1.05 kg

Female Weight0.95 kg

Life Expectancy20 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

Also called Brünnich's guillemot, the thick-billed murre is a high‑Arctic auk renowned for deep, wing‑propelled dives that can exceed 100 m. It nests in vast, noisy colonies on sheer sea cliffs, laying a single pyriform egg that resists rolling. A thin white line along the bill’s cutting edge is a key field mark in breeding plumage. Populations are sensitive to bycatch, oiling, and sea-ice changes driven by climate warming.

Gallery

Head color in breeding plumage is identical in all Brünnich's guillemots

Adult and chick, Buldir Island, Alaska

Breeding colony at Stappen, Bear Island. Note bill-stripes visible at a distance.

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

Vagrant adult in winter plumage, northern South Carolina

Thick-billed murres in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

A thick-billed murre (second from right, distinguishable by white marking on bill) with a group of common murres in Reykjanes, Iceland

Group on rocks, Alaska

Behaviour

Temperament

social and colonial

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats

Social Behavior

Breeds in dense cliff colonies, often shoulder-to-shoulder on narrow ledges. Pairs are largely monogamous and lay a single egg, with both parents incubating and provisioning. Chicks depart the ledge at a young age, leaping to the sea and accompanying the male parent while continuing to be fed.

Migratory Pattern

Seasonal migrant

Song Description

Vocalizations are a series of guttural croaks, purrs, and growls, especially loud and continuous at colonies. Calls function in mate contact, chick-parent recognition, and territorial spacing on crowded ledges.

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Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Thick-billed parrot

The thick-billed parrot is a medium-sized parrot endemic to Mexico that formerly ranged into the southwestern United States It was the last parrot to have been native to the American continent after the other parrot, the Carolina parakeet fell to extinction. Its position in parrot phylogeny is the subject of ongoing discussion; it is sometimes referred to as thick-billed macaw or thick-billed conure. In Mexico, it is locally called guacamaya ("macaw") or cotorra serrana. Classified internationally as Endangered through IUCN, the thick-billed parrot's decline has been central to multiple controversies over wildlife management. In 2018, the estimated wild population in Mexico was 1,700.

Thick-billed raven

The thick-billed raven, a corvid from the Horn of Africa, shares with the common raven the distinction of being the largest bird in the corvid family. The thick-billed raven averages 64 cm (25 in) in length, with a range of 60 to 70 cm and weighs approximately 1.15 kg (2.5 lb) in females and 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) in males on average. Its size is about the same as the largest subspecies of common raven but some common raven subspecies are rather smaller and, going on average weights, the thick-billed raven is likely the heaviest extant passerine. The thick-billed raven is about 25% heavier on average than the Australasian superb lyrebird, which is sometimes erroneously titled the largest passerine.

Thick-billed saltator

The thick-billed saltator is a species of saltator in the family Thraupidae. It is found in highland Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil, far northeastern Argentina, and perhaps far eastern Paraguay. Unlike most other saltators, it is sexually dichromatic: Females resemble a green-winged saltator, but with a thicker bill, greener face and buff throat. The male thick-billed saltator is unique with its long white eyebrow, grey back, and black and orange beak.

Thick-billed seed finch

The thick-billed seed finch is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, but was until recently placed in Emberizidae. It is found widely in shrubby and grassy areas from southern Mexico, through Central America, to the Chocó in Colombia and Ecuador. It is replaced by the closely related chestnut-bellied seed finch in South America east of the Andes, as well as the valleys of Cauca and Magdalena in Colombia. The two have often been considered conspecific as the lesser seed-finch.