RAZOR-BILL. 59 



under the wing, and not on the belly, as usual, showing that 

 this bird must have lain on its side during incubation 

 (Zool. 1878, p. 378). It is not, however, known to cross to 

 the western side of Davis Strait and Baffin Sea, nor can its 

 continuous range be traced to the North Pacific, where it is 

 said to occur in Japanese w^aters, although confirmation of 

 this is wanting. On the Atlantic side it breeds in abun- 

 dance on the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, ranging 

 southwards in winter to about 40° N. lat. 



Both sexes are alike in plumage, and in summer the beak 

 is black, with three transverse grooves and one white line 

 on the upper mandible, two shallower transverse grooves and 

 a white line on the lower mandible ; from the top of the beak 

 to each eye there is a well-defined streak of pure white ; 

 irides dark brown ; the upper part of the head, hind neck, 

 back, wings, and tail black ; chin and throat dark brown ; 

 the tips of the secondary quill-feathers, the breast, and all 

 the under surface of the body pure white ; legs, toes, and 

 their membranes brownish-black. In winter the colour of 

 the upper parts is browner, and the throat, front neck, and 

 sides of the head are white. The whole length about 

 seventeen inches ; wing, from the wrist, seven inches and a 

 half. 



A young bird of the year, killed in December, repre- 

 sented by the central figure in the illustration, has the beak 

 smooth and black, as yet without ridge, groove, or white line 

 on either mandible ; the white line from the top of the beak 

 to the eye observable, but not very pure in colour, being 

 mixed with a little black; chin, throat, neck in front, and 

 on the side at the upper part, cheeks, and ear-coverts white. 

 It only differs from the adult bird in winter in the character 

 of the beak, which is smaller and has not then acquired the 

 grooves or lines so conspicuous in the old bird. The young 

 bird retains its white throat till the spring moult, when it 

 assumes the black throat peculiar to the breeding-season ; 

 by the middle of May the bill exhibits a whitish band, but 

 the grooves are not well defined until the following year, 

 when it breeds. 



