Thick-billed Murres Uria lomvia replace mates during breeding

Among most seabirds, including murres Uria spp., the breeding pair take turns incubating the eggs and feeding and brooding the nestlings (Lack 1968, Gaston 2004). This collaboration is usually critical to the rearing of the chick. Consequently, the death or disablement of one parent during breeding may result in reproductive failure.

GASTON, A.J., WOO, K. & LASH, T.J.F., Marine Ornithology 33: 65-66