The California Mur re 
The downy young that are about three days old add to the confusion, 
for they choose the night to start their hegiras. Without guidance or path 
they tumble off rocks, fall from cliff's, downward, ever downward, until 
caught by a smashing wave at the shore. And here all trace of them is 
lost, until we find them again as adults. 
Griffing Bancroft. 
No. 297 
California Murre 
A. O. U. No. 30a. Uria troille californica (Bryant). 
Synonyms.— California Guillemot. California Egg-bird. Farallon 
Bird. 
Description. —Adult in summer: Head and neck all around warm sooty brown, 
changing on upperparts to dark brownish slate, feathers of back and rump with a little 
pale grayish brown edging; underparts from throat abruptly pure white, the sides 
shaded or striped with sooty; wing-linings white, varied with dusky; secondaries nar¬ 
rowly tipped with white; a sulcus, or groove, in plumage behind eye. Bill and feet 
black; irides brown. Adult in winter: Similar, but white of underparts extending to 
bill, and invading occiput till only a narrow central stripe of black remains, shading on 
head enough to outline a dusky stripe behind eye. Immature, first winter: Like winter 
adults, but white not invading occiput, and less extensive on side of head, with some 
dusky clouding on jugulum. Chicks are white centrally below and brownish dusky 
above, with lance-linear projecting white feathers on head and neck. Length of adult 
381-457.2 (15.00-18.00); av. of 10 Monterey specimens: length (skins) 439 (17.3); wing 
206.3 (8.12); bill 44.8 (1.76), depth through angle 13.3 (.52); tarsus 38.8 (1.53). 
Recognition Marks. —Crow size; black and white coloration; aquatic habits; 
sharply pointed wings; rapid, graceful flight; tapering head, slant of forehead nearly 
conformable to that of bill. 
Nesting. —Single egg, laid on ledge of rock, in cranny or in cave; sharply tapering 
at one end, very variable as to ground-color, ranging through white, grayish- bluish-, 
or greenish-white, to deep sea-green, and variously marked, spotted, scrawled, or 
stained with brownish or purplish black and such self-tones as ecru-olive, clay-color, 
Prout’s brown, sayal brown, walnut-brown, and snuff-brown, or even, rarely, chocolate. 
Av. size 82.2 x 52.2 (3.24x2.055); index 65.3. Season: June (March 6—July 25, 
Bent). 
General Range. —Coasts and islands of the northern Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, 
and the adjacent portions of the Arctic Ocean. Breeds from southern California north 
to Norton Sound, the Pribilof Islands, St. Matthews Island, the Aleutian Islands, and 
the Commander Islands. At other seasons recorded north to Wrangel Island and south 
to northern Japan. 
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