Common Murre

Common Murre (Uria aalge) is a large black-and-white auk with a long pointed bill and dark brown-black head and back. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It flies underwater after fish, nests shoulder-to-shoulder on bare cliff ledges and lays a single pointed egg. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).