Thick-billed murres are arctic seabirds that breed at high densities on cliff ledges, where they lay a single egg without constructing a nest. |
He became interested in the subject in the 1970s while studying the mating strategies of common murres on the Welsh island of Skomer for his doctoral dissertation. |
However, female murres also laid earlier as they increased in age up to eight years old. |
After male murres and Razorbills take their small, flightless chicks to sea, they themselves undergo a prebasic molt, becoming flightless. |
Year-round bird species include murres, auklets, kittiwakes, puffins, guillemots, Kittlitz's murrelet, and gulls. |
The removal of these predators has benefitted many other bird species on the islands, including puffins, murres, and auklets. |