Common murre (Uria aalge)

Common murres are in the family Alcidae (the northern counterparts of the penguins). They are permanent coastal residents and can be found in the inland waters of Washington and British Columbia during the winter where they eat pelagic fish such as sand lance, herring, and smelts. Breeding populations in Washington state declined from over 30,000 in the early 1980s to fewer than 300 in 1983 and has remained low since then. Entanglement in drift gillnets, pollution, and increased predation from bald eagles, crows, and gulls are factors contributing to declines in abundance of this species. They are candidates for listing by Washington state and are candidates for extirpated, endangered, or threatened status in British Columbia (red list).