RAZOR-BILL AUK. 23l 



nesting-place, on the face of the rocks, is never far 

 raised above the water. This Auk is found breed- 

 ing in suitable localities, from Shetland to the Isle 

 of Wight. On the continental shores we believe 

 it to be equally abundant ; but we are not sure of 

 its southern range. Mr. Yarrell mentions a speci- 

 men in the winter dress, in the collection of the 

 Zoological Society, received from Tangiers. In the 

 arctic seas it is also abundant ; and Audubon writes, 

 " A few birds of this species occassionally go as far 

 south as New York during winter ; but beyond this 

 parallel I never met with one." In its breeding 

 stations, farther north, he found this bird incubating 

 in fissures of the rocks. 



In the breeding plumage, the head and neck are 

 brownish black, of a paler or browner tint on the 

 throat, a narrow streak of white extends from the 

 culmen of the bill to the angle of the eye ; the plu- 

 mage is thick and soft ; above, very deep brownish 

 black ; the secondary quills tipped with white, form- 

 ing a narrow bar across the wing; tail cuneated 

 with the centre feathers, narrowed towards the tip ; 

 under plumage entirely white ; the bill black, trans- 

 versely furrowed, with a line of white in that of the 

 centre ; legs and feet nearly black. 



In the plumage of the first year, when it is known 

 under the name of Black-billed Auk ; the bill is very 

 weak (see wood-cut, next page), and the indication 

 of the white streak to the eye is just marked ; the 

 upper parts are as in the adult breeding state, but 

 without the lustre ; while the chin, throat, cheeks 



