810 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PYGOPODES. 



turgid, with inflected tomial margins; of under upright, grooved lengthwise; gape straight; 

 gonys straight or nearly so, very long. Nasal fossje large, shallow, covered with soft skiiJ 

 iu the only state known ; vvliich flares over the ratlier long, narrowly oval sub-basal nostrils 

 at the bottom of the fossa. Outline of frontal feathers nearly transverse across culmen, thence 

 retreating obliquely to the commissure. Tarsi reticulate, nuich shorter than middle toe 

 without claw. This genus apparently connects the Phaleridince with the Aldnce, having 

 mucli the aspect of Mergulus or Brachi/rhamphus, with sui generis shape of bill ; its position 

 will only be settled by learning what, if any, are the transformations of the bill. 

 8(52. P. aleu'ticus. (Of the Aleutian Islands.) Aleutian Auk. Bill black, the skinny part 

 pale in the only state observed; feet blackish behind and below, bluish iu front of tarsus and 

 on tops of toes. A touch of white about eye. Upper parts blackish-plumbeous, tlie head, 

 wings, and tail nearly black. This dark color, diluted to grayish-plumbeous, extends around 

 the head, neck, and fore-breast, along the sides, and on lining of wings, fading to white on 

 belly and crissum. No special states of plumage are known. Length 8.00-9.50; extent 

 1(). 00-18. 50; wing 4.75-5.25 ; tail 1.50-1.75 ; tarsus about 1.00; middle toe and claw 1.40; 

 outer do. 1.30; inner do. 1.10; culmen 0.75; gape 0.90; gonys 0.60; depth of bill at base 

 0.40, width 0.30. Pacific coast of N. A., Aleutians to L. Gala., thus not specially Arctic. 

 Breeds as far south at least as the Farallones. 



77. Subfamily ALCIN^ : Guillemots, Murres, and Auks proper. 



See analysis on p. 799, and characters of subfamily Phaleridince. Among the Aldnce, 

 that is to say, Auks with feathered nostrils and unappendaged bill, there is a gentle gradation 

 from those genera in which the bill is snnplest and slenderest, as in the Guillemots and MuiTe- 

 lets, to those in which it is stoutest, as in some of the Guillemots, and in the razor- billed and 

 great auks, in which it is greatly compressed and sulcate, recalling that of a puffin. Some of 

 the genera are confined to the North Pacific, as Synthliborhamphus and Brachyrhamphus ; 

 others are circumpolar, as Uria and Lomvia: several, as Alle, Uria, Lomvia, Utamania 'dni. 

 Alca, represent the family in the North Atlantic, together with Fratercula of the Phaleridince. 

 342. AL'LE. (A local name of the bird.) Sea Dove. Size small ; form squat and bunchy. 



Bill very short, stout, and obtuse, as wide as high at base, 

 the sides of both ma,ndibles turgid, the edge of the upper 

 i 1 much inflected ; culmen very convex ; rictus ample, de- 



curved at end ; gonys straight, very short, the mandibular 

 rami correspondingly long, and widely divaricated ; nasal 

 fossaj ' short, wide, deep, partly feathered. Nostrils sub 

 basal, more nearly circular than in any other genus except- 

 ing the next. Wings rather long for this family; tail 

 Fm. .548. - Sea-dove, nat. size. ^^^^^i rounded, with narrow pointed feathers.. Feet small 



and weak; tarsus scarcely compressed, broadly scutellate in front, finely reticulate behind. 

 One species. 

 863. A. ni'gricans. (Lat. nigricans, blackening. Fig. 548.) Sea-dove. Dovekie. Alle. 

 Adults in summer : Head and neck all around, and entire upper parts, very glossy blue-black ; 

 scapulars edged and secondaries tipped with white, forming two conspicuous patches ; touches 

 of white about eyes. Under parts from the neck pure white, some of the long feathers of the 

 flanks rayed with black ; lining of wings dusky. Bill black ; mouth yellow ; feet black behind 

 and below, in front and above flesh-colored ; eyes brown. In winter : The white of under 

 parts extending to the bill, and on sides of neck nearly around. Young like adults in winter, 

 but upper parts duller ; bill smaller ; feet dusky greenish, the scales obscured. Length 8.50 ; 

 extent 15.50; wing 4.75-5.25; tail 1.50; tarsus 0.80; middle toe and claw 1.20, outer do. 





