Common murre
Amazing fact
The common murre runs along the water surface to gain speed for takeoff.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The common murre runs along the water surface to gain speed for takeoff.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Common murre
- Scientific name
- Uria aalge
- Japanese name
- ウミガラス
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Alcidae
- Genus
- Uria
A seabird of the North Pacific, the North Atlantic, and the Arctic Ocean. Standing upright, it looks like a penguin, but it is not a penguin.
Besides flying through the air, it uses its strong wings to swim surprisingly fast under the sea.
It gathers in groups to breed on steep island cliffs. After the chick leaves the nest, its father raises it out at sea.
How the Common murre lives
It often flies close to the water when feeding. It carries small fish lengthwise in its bill, with the tail sticking out. Outside the breeding season, it spends most of its time at sea.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: 40 cm葛西臨海水族園
- Weight
- 945–1,044 gUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Crustaceans, fish, and other animals葛西臨海水族園
- Range
- North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Arctic Ocean葛西臨海水族園
- Conservation status in Japan
- Critically Endangered (CR)Assessed as Uria aalge inornataMinistry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)
Where the Common murre has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ウミガラス
- 简体中文
- 崖海鸦
- 繁體中文
- 崖海鴉
- 한국어
- 바다오리
- Español
- Arao común
- Français
- Guillemot de Troïl
- Deutsch
- Trottellumme
- Português (Brasil)
- Airo
- Italiano
- Uria
- العربية
- مور شائع
- Русский
- Тонкоклювая кайра
- Türkçe
- Alk
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 葛西臨海水族園 — ウミガラスChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Uria aalgeChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Common murre, look for this
- Look for its long, slender, dark bill.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Common murre
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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Others in Alcidae
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