92 Bird-Life in Labrador. 



out the breeding; season, and find the l)irds so wonderfully ac- 

 commodating that the last batch taken is nearly as numerous 

 as the first. The " turres " associate with both the " nuirres " 

 and the black guillemots. The etrg: of the latter bird, though 

 smaller and otherwise distinct, is not unsimilar in apjiearance, 

 and often the two are found breeding side l)y side, though s(d - 

 dom in any very great numbers. The razor-I)illed auks are 

 among the first birds to be seen on approaching the Labrabor 

 coast. We found them much more abundant in Southern 

 than in Xoi'thern Labrador. ^\ ith both the razor- l)i lied auk 

 and the foolish guillemot considerable similarity ot habits 

 appear to exist ; possibly this results from the fact that l^oth 

 species are so numerous tlint the dances of individualizing 

 them is reduced to the shaj)e of the bill as seen at short range 

 only, but regarding the fiight and habits of the two I know 

 of no one who has satisfactorily, to me at least, distinguished 

 between them. We saw thousands of both species ; they 

 passed and rej)assed us so rai)idly and so thoroughly bewild- 

 ered us, as they seemed to be bewildered themselves, that I 

 could not tell surely in describing either s|)ecies whether the 

 remark ajiplie<l equally to both or exclusively to one. It ap- 

 ])eared to me that both were remarkably similar in hal)its. 

 ( )n approaching the coast we saw single birds or long lines of 

 them fiying here and there in a frightened manner close to or 

 a little above the water, oilen almost touching the waves with 

 their wings as they veered or rose and fell in undulations like 

 the billowy crests beneath them. They were never wild, but 

 flew directly over our vessel or across her bows with as much 

 freedom as along the surface of the sea on either side of us. 

 Their flight was strong and well-sustained, the beats of their 

 wings rapid and powerful. At times they woidd turn from 

 side to side quickly, so as to show alternately their white bel- 

 lies and their black backs. They aj)i:)eared to prefer a l(»ng 

 straight line from which, if they veered at all, it was suddenly 

 and in a right-angled direction. The nearer we a])proached 

 the coast the more abundant thev became. Thev filled the 



