Common Murre Skulls Replicas Models

Description

Common Murre Skulls Replicas Models measures 112 mm or 4.4 inches. The Common Murre Skulls Replicas Models is Museum Quality Polyurethane cast made in USA. The common murre or common guillemot or Uria aalge is a large auk. It is also known as the thin-billed murre in North America. It has thin dark pointed bill and a small rounded dark tail. After the pre-basic moult, the face is white with a dark spur behind the eye.

The common murre is 15-18 in. in length with a 24-29 in. wingspan. In breeding plumage, the nominate subspecies is black on the head, back and wings, and has white underparts. It has thin dark pointed bill and a small rounded dark tail. After the pre-basic moult, the face is white with a dark spur behind the eye. Birds of the subspecies U. a. albionis are dark brown rather than black, most obviously so in colonies in southern Britain. Legs are grey and the bill is dark grey. Occasionally, adults are seen with yellow-grey legs.

The plumage of first winter birds is the same as the adult basic plumage. However, the first pre-alternate moult occurs later in the year. The adult pre-alternate moult is December–February, (even starting as early as November in U. a. albionis). First year birds can be in basic plumage as late as May, and their alternate plumage can retain some white feathers around the throat.
“Bridled guillemot” in Iceland

Some individuals in the North Atlantic, known as “bridled guillemots”, have a white ring around the eye extending back as a white line. This is not a distinct subspecies, but a polymorphism that becomes more common the farther north the birds breed. The white is highly contrasting especially in the latter species and would provide an easy means for an individual bird to recognize conspecifics in densely packed breeding colonies.

Additional information