696 RAZORBILL. 



This Auk has been obtained off Jan Mayen, but is unknown in 

 Spitsbergen and the high Arctic regions to the eastward. It breeds 

 in the Faeroes, Iceland, Scandinavia up to lat. 71° N., and south- 

 ward to Brittany ; while in winter it visits the Baltic, and goes up 

 the Mediterranean to the Adriatic and Malta, though the majority 

 keep well out in the Atlantic as far as the Canaries, unless driven 

 into bays by stormy weather. In summer it resorts to the west coast 

 of Greenland up to about 73°, but seldom reaches the American side 

 of Davis Strait, and it has not been met with in the Arctic waters to 

 the westward. Southward, it breeds in Labrador and down to the 

 Bay of Fundy ; while in winter it has visited North Carolina. There 

 is no proof of its occurrence in the Pacific. 



The Razorbill deposits a single egg, by choice in a burrow or a 

 crevice, or at least on an over-hung ledge, but in default of these it 

 will make use of an open shelf, like a Guillemot. When brooding it 

 couches along — ^not across — the egg, its mate often standing near ; 

 and both sexes incubate, the male bringing food to the female 

 when she is sitting. The eggs, often laid by the middle of May, 

 are not so pear-shaped as those of the Guillemot and seldom show 

 the faintest tinge of green ; they are usually white or pale chocolate- 

 brown, blotched and often zoned with mahogany-colour or black : 

 measurements 2*9 by I'g in. On holding the empty shell against 

 the light the inside lining-membrane shows green : whereas in that of 

 the Guillemot it appears to be yellowish-^vhite, except when over- 

 powered by the green of the shell itself. The young flutter from 

 the rocks to the sea, or (it is said) are taken by the neck and 

 carried down by the parents ; they are at first very loth to follow the 

 old bird in diving, and remain crying plaintively on the surface of 

 the water. The food consists of small fish (which are carried 

 diagonally in the bill, not at right angles as they are by the Puffin), 

 and crustaceans. The Razorbill utters a peculiar grunting or groaning, 

 especially when sitting ; on the water it may be distinguished at a 

 distance from the Guillemot by its upturned tail. 



The adult (figured on the right) is chiefly greenish-black above, 

 deep brown on the throat, and white below ; in winter the upper- 

 parts lose the greenish gloss, and the throat, fore-neck and cheeks 

 are white. Length 17 in., wing 7*3. A young bird killed in 

 December (central figure) has the bill smooth and black without 

 any white groove on either mandible, and shows only a faint white 

 line from the top of the bill to the eye ; its plumage resembles that 

 of the adult in winter. I do not think that breeding takes place 

 until the bird is nearly two years old. 



