BBIDLED aUILLEMOT. 2^7 



Inchen. Twelflbs. 

 Length from tlie tip of the bill to the end 



of the tail - - - 19 4 



Length of the wing from the flexure - 8 " 



Bill along the ridge - - 1 11 



Tarsus - - -IS 



Middle toe - - - 2 6 



Its claw - - - 7 



Compare the above with the measurement of the Common 

 Guillemot in " M'Gilivray's Manual of British Birda" 



A Female. 



Length 



MaU. 



Length - - - 



Wing from flexure 



Bill along the ridge 



Length of tarsus 



Middle toe - 



Its claw - - - 



As the skin had been too much stretched in the course of 

 preservation, this would materially affect the total length ; 

 but it is quite obvious, on comparing the measurement of the 

 other parts, that this is the largest of the two birds. It was 

 long contended that this bird was only a variety of the com- 

 mon Guillemot, but Mons. Thi^neman, and Mr. Proctor of 

 Durham, have proved its title to the rank of an independent 

 species. I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Goodsii* 

 for reading the foregoing description at a meeting of the 

 Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, in 1847 ; the specimen was 

 laid upon the table, and yet, I am informed that Professor 

 Fleming dissented from Mr. Selby's opinion, contending that 

 it was only a variety. However, in his chap<;er on Zoology, 

 in the " History of the Bass Rock,'' he states that the Bridled 

 Guillemot (Uria lachrymans) has been shot there, which I 

 take to be a rescinding of his former opinion. 

 August 28, 1848. 



U 



