74 ALCID.^, 



with the eye (Zool. 1866, p. x.) On Handa, oflf the coast 

 of Sutherland, the Ringed variety is said by Mr. Harvie- 

 Brovvn to he abundant as compared with other bird stations 

 in Scotland, being in the proportion of about one in ten or 

 twelve, and he has many times seen the Common and the 

 Ringed birds paired. Major Feilden's experience in the 

 Hebrides and the Fteroes is to the same effect, and details 

 of tlie observations of these two eminent ornithologists at 

 Barra Head and on Mingalay, will be found in Mr. Gray's 

 ' Birds of the West of Scotland ' (p. 426). The assertion by 

 Pastor Sommerfelt as to the large proportion of the Ringed 

 form in the north of Norway, is contradicted by Mr. Collett, 

 who emphatically states that every one of the individuals he 

 was able to examine on the Stappen breeding-station near 

 the North Cape, in June 1872, belonged to the original type. 

 At Grimsey, to the north of Iceland, according to Mr. Procter, 

 there is a considerable proportion of the Ringed variety ; 

 and there appears to be a general although not invariable 

 increase in the number of this form towards the north. 

 From Baird's ' Birds of North America ' (p. 914), it would 

 seem that this variation is equally found in the Pacific 

 U. caUfornica : a strong argument against the specific 

 value of the white markings. On the other hand, Mr. 

 Gatcombe informs the Editor that all the Ringed birds 

 which he has examined appeared to have the apertures of 

 the eye, when measured with the compass, larger than in 

 the ordinary bird, and his views are entitled to much con- 

 sideration. As regards the eggs laid by the Ringed form, 

 they are undoubtedly liable to the same variations as those 

 of the typical bird ; and, upon the whole, the balance of 

 evidence appears to show that the Ringed bird is merely a 

 form of the Common Guillemot. 



The Guillemot's evolutions in the water have of late years 

 been exhibited to advantage in the tanks at the Brighton 

 Aquarium, and at the Zoological Society's Gardens. Con- 

 siderable force is exercised in diving, and the wings are used 

 for propulsion under water, the course of the bird being 

 marked by a line of small, silvery bubbles, and its immer- 



