BLACK GUILLEMOT. 223 



covers being entirely of that colour ; the tips of the 

 last secondaries and of the quills, except the first, 

 are grey, the colour running along the edge of the 

 outer webs for a third of their length ; the bill is 

 black ; there is a very slight difference in size be- 

 tween the sexes. The young birds, two in number, 

 a few days old, were of a dull black ; they were 

 taken alive, and kept for a few days ; their time 

 of greatest activity was during the night, in the 

 day-time, running behind anything the room af- 

 forded; and, if brought out, immediately again 

 retiring to their hiding-place. The plumage, in the 

 winter, varies ; but we are not sure that the young 

 always attain what is considered the complete pale 

 dress at that season. When shooting, many years 

 since, on the Firth of Forth, in January, we were 

 driven by a gale to take shelter upon the lee side of 

 Inchkeith ; and, among many other birds that had 

 sought refuge there, apparently for a similar pur- 

 pose, was a specimen of this bird, which we, from 

 what we considered at one time an unfortunate 

 change of weather, procured. From the chin down- 

 wards it is pure white ; the head, upper part of the 

 neck, and sides of the breast, clouded with brownish 

 black ; the back of a deeper tint, each feather tipped 

 with white ; the rump nearly pure white ; quills and 

 tail black ; and the white conspicuous spots on the 

 wings clouded with brownish black. 



Following the Guillemots, and before describing 

 the more typical Auks, we may notice a small bird 



