292 



E. BRUN 



Table 2. Status of the puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Norway (cf. Fig. 1). 



proved to breed in Norwegian colonies in 

 1964; it was then found at three localities and 

 has since been found breeding at eight locali- 

 ties (Table 7). It is now fairly certain that the 

 thick-billed murre is not a newcomer but has 

 remained unnoticed among the common 

 murre for generations, possibly since the 

 original immigration of the Uria species after 

 the last glacial period. Data are not sufficient 

 to show whether this small population of 

 thick-billed murres is decreasing at the same 

 rate as the common murre. 



Razorbill (Alca torda) 



Another colonial cliff-breeding alcid, the 

 razorbill (Fig. 4), has a distribution pattern 

 very similar to that of the common murre, but 

 the individual colonies (Table 8) are, with one 

 exception, smaller. The total breeding popula- 



tion was estimated at 36,000 pairs in 1966-69 

 (Brun 19696); some more recent censuses 

 show a definite decline, but data are not suffi- 

 cient to estimate the overall decline in the 

 Norwegian population. At most, the current 

 breeding population is 30,000 pairs. 



Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) 



The fulmar is one of two species of seabirds 

 that have spread from colonies in the British 

 Isles and established themselves as breeding 

 birds in Norway during this century (the 

 other is the gannet). 



The fulmar began nesting in the early 

 1920's on Runde, the only sizeable seabird 

 colony in south Norway, off Alesund. Further 

 immigration of birds from the British Isles 

 probably occurred in the first 25 years, when 



