LOMVIA TROILE : COMMON GUILLEMOT. 



397 



necticut case. It also breeds sparingly on islands about 

 the northern limit of the New England coast. The 

 eggs are laid in the 

 crevices of rocks, 

 and are usually two, 

 sometimes three in 

 number, measuring 

 about 2.33 X 1.55, 

 of a dull green- 

 ish color, variously 



marked with 

 spots. 



dark 



FIG. 85. BLACK GUILLEMOT. Nat. size. 



COMMON GUILLEMOT, OR MURRE. 

 LOMVIA TROILE (L.) Brdt. 



Chars. Tarsi scutellate in front, much shorter than middle toe 

 without claw ; bill with decurved commissure, much longer than 

 tarsus, its end, and the outer claw, grooved; nostrils feathered ; 

 tail graduated, contained more than three times in the length of 

 wing. Size and coloration almost exactly as described under 

 Utamania torda, but no white line from bill to eye. Depth of 

 bill at nostrils not nearly half the length of culmen ; tomia of 

 upper mandible at base feathered, not noticeably dilated, nor 

 brightly colored. In some cases, edges of eyelids, and line 

 behind eye, white. 



Contrary to the general impression, the " common " 

 Guillemot appears to be a rare bird in New England, 

 most of the Murres occurring in winter along our coast 

 being of the following species. Its breeding in some 

 localities on the Maine coast is attested, like that of the 



