Common Murre
Common Murre has collapsed: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1974.
About the Common Murre
The Common Murre (Uria aalge) is a North American member of the Auks, Murres & Puffins (Alcidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the seabirds.
- Size
- 8–17.5 in long (20–45 cm) — a compact seabird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Open ocean and coastlines, coming ashore mainly to nest in colonies.
- Diet
- Fish, squid and other marine animals caught at or below the surface.
- Range
- Recorded on 12 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 4 states, most concentrated in the Northern Pacific Rainforest.
- Family
- Alcidae · Seabirds
Notable Common Murre Trends
No notable trend signals for Common Murre. See the full index history below.
Common Murre Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Common Murre is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.00 (95% range 0.00–0.42). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±12295.3%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.42 |
| 2026 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.42 |
| 2027 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.42 |
| 2028 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.42 |
| 2029 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.42 |
Where the Common Murre Is Detected
BBS routes recording Common Murre, sized by most recent count.
Common Murre Population Trend by State
| Alaska | insufficient data | n/a | 5 |
| California | -98% | 1975 | 3 |
| Oregon | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Washington | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
Common Murre Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | -98% | 1974 | 10 |
Common Murre Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 96% since 1974.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.