AYES. 
279 
towards the point, the lower one forming an angle, a little open ; 
nostrils basal, lateral, concave, oblong, ovate, longitudinal, half con¬ 
cealed by a broad membrane covered with feathers and pervious ; 
legs short, placed far back; feet with three anterior toes only, web¬ 
bed to their points ; wings short, narrow; first and second quills 
longest. 
Uria gyille. — The Black Guillemot. 
Plate LX VI. fig-. 9. 
Plumage iridescent black, with green and purple reflections ; 
greater wing-coverts having a large patch of white; bill black; 
legs and feet scarlet; nails black. Fourteen inches long. In¬ 
habits the North Seas. 
Genus 23.—ME R G UL U S.— Vieillot. 
Generic Character. —Bill shorter than the head, a little arcu¬ 
ated, conico-convex, a little open between the mandibles; upper 
mandible slightly bent towards the point; lower mandible straight 
half way from its base, where it forms an acute angle, and sud¬ 
denly tapers to a point; base of both mandibles clothed with 
feathers; nostrils round, partly covered by the feathers of the 
capistrum ; legs short, placed far behind; feet with three anterior 
toes only, united to their points by a web ; claws long and sharp; 
wings short; the first and second quills longest; tail short and 
pointed. 
Mergulus alle. — The Little Auk. 
Plate LXVII. fig. 4. 
Upper parts black; lesser coverts and scapulars tipped with 
white, forming a band of white across the wing; the scapulars 
with longitudinal white streaks ; a white belt across the cheek, 
nearly meeting at the sinciput; irides and toes orange; webs 
brown ; bill and nails black. 
Genus 24.—PHALERIS.— Temminck. 
Generic Character. —Bill shorter than the head, depressed, 
somewhat dilated on the sides, quadrangular and slightly notched 
at the tip ; the lower mandible angulated on its lower side ; 
nostrils remote from the base, placed on the edge of the upper 
mandible, linear, and half concealed by a membrane ; legs short; 
tarsus scaly; feet with three long anterior toes only, united 
to their tips by a serrated membrane ; nails long and bent; 
wings of medium length ; the first quill longest. 
