BLACK GUILLKMOT. 3 



O i 



without any appearance of nest. The egg is white, slightly 

 tinged with green, blotched, spotted, and speckled, with ash- 

 grey, reddish-brown, and very dark brown ; the length two 

 inches three lines, by one inch and a half in breadth. The 

 first covering of the young bird is a greyish-black down, 

 through which its first feathers make their way, and these 

 are mottled black and white. The old birds, as well as 

 the young, have a considerable portion of white in their 

 plumage during winter, and in high northern latitudes still 

 more white than with us. The summer-plumage is black, 

 and in reference to the time of its assumption in Zetland, 

 Dr. Fleming says that their summer appearance was com- 

 pleted by the end of March, but that they began to assume 

 the black by the end of February. Mr. Dunn, from ob- 

 servation in Shetland, adds, " that the young of this species 

 never leave the nest until perfectly fledged, and able to 

 provide for themselves ; as soon as this takes place the at- 

 tendance and care of the parents cease ; they do not even 

 continue in the company of their young, which associate 

 together for some time afterwards. Their food is small fish 

 and Crustacea. 



This species is found on the coasts of Scandinavia, the 

 Faroe Islands, and Iceland; it has also been found as far 

 north as Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, and Greenland, and has 

 been called the Greenland Dove. It was found by our 

 Arctic voyagers in most of the high northern latitudes visited 

 by them, and is well known in North America, where Mr. 

 Audubon says it lays three eggs. It is occasionally seen on 

 the coasts of Holland and France. 



In summer the beak is black ; inside of the mouth red- 

 dish-orange ; the irides brown ; the whole of the plumage 

 black, except the patch on the wing, which is white ; legs 

 vermilion red ; whole length of the bird fourteen inches ; of 

 the wing from the wrist six inches and a half. 



