The Gitillciiiots. 



211 



thp: common 

 guillemot. 



(Uria troilc.) 

 See p. 2 12. 



able to tly. It used to nest on St. Kilda, and 



some of the last examples recorded were found 



near the Orkne}-s, but in former times it must 



have extended further to the south, and also to 



Ireland, as is proved by the discovery of iossil 



remains. About seventy specimens of its eggs 



are preserved in different Museums of the world, 



and they go through the same e.xtent of variation 



as those of the Razor-Bill, which they resemble 



in colour and markings, though they are, ot 



course, mucli larger. The range of the Great 



Auk was never ver\' extensive, as it seems to 



nave occurred only from the north of Scotland 



to Iceland and the latitude of Newfoundland on 



the .Atlantic coast of North America. 



Guillemots are distin- 

 guished from the Ka;;or-bills 

 by their long pointed bill, 

 which has also no grooves. 

 The colour is not so black 



as in the latter birds and is more of a smoky 



brown, but otherwise the species are very 



similar. It inhabits the seas of Northern and 



Western Europe and the Atlantic coast of 



America. In Great Britain it niliabits the same 



rocky districts as the Razor-Bill, but breeds in greater numbers than the latter bird, 



which it resembles in its habits. It is to a certain degree migrator}-, and disappears 



from its breeding-places as soon as the young are able to look after themselves. 



One pear-shaped egg only is laid on the bare rock, and the variation in colour is so 



great that there is no possibility of givmg an exact description of the egg, as it may 



be white, green, buff, or bluish, with scanty marknigs or dense scribblings and 



blotches of black or rufous. The length is from three inches to three inches- 



and-a-half. 



This bird only differs from the Common Guillemot ni 

 having a white eye-ring and a white line along the crease 

 which skirts the upper edge of the ear-coverts. By many 

 natura.ists it is considered to be only a variety of the Com- 

 mon Guillemot, as both forms occur together. Its occurrence 



is too frequent, however, to make me think that this can be the case, though 



there is no dil'fcrcncc m habits or nidilicatit)n between the two forms, as far 



as is known. 



'4' 



The Great Auk. 



THK BUIDLED 

 GUILLEMOT. 



(Uria ringvia.) 

 See p. 212. 



