Common Guillemot / Common Murre skull (Uria aalge) The colour red is auspicious

The colour red is auspicious in Tibetan culture

The razorbill is a colonial species that only comes ashore to breed

These were carved by the tribes that lived along the Pacific North West Coast of the US and Canada and were sold as tourist souvenirs to generate income

The spotted look of palmwood is caused by fossilized rod-like structures within the original wood

The “strap” from which the ornament is hung around the neck has broken over the years and has been repaired using more recent string

Common Guillemot / Common Murre skull (Uria aalge) The colour red is auspiciousThis is a skull of the common guillemot, also known as the common murre Uria aalge. This species is a large member of the Auk family with circumpolar distribution of the sub species in the Northern waters. They breed in huge colonies with a density of up to 20 pairs on one square metre of rock. They are expert divers with diving depths of 180m being recorded in search of food. This specimen was from a dead bird washed up on the shore. It is a very