1125 



GUILLEMOTS. 



GUILLEMOTS. 



1126 



there is a very faithful figure of the bird in Friach, ' Vog. Deutsch. ' 

 t. 185 (Temminck). 



Summer Plumage, or Nuptial Dress. Male. The whole plumage, 

 the middle of the wing alone excepted, of a sooty-black ; wing coverts 

 forming a large space or speculum of pure white. Bill black, the 

 inside of it and the feet bright red. 



Female. Rather less. The black of the plumage less deep, and 

 the white of the plumage less extended and less pure. At the periods 

 of the two moults white feathers in more or less quantity are visible 

 on the under parts of both sexes. M. Temminck, who gives this 

 description, refers to the following synonyms and works as illustra- 

 tive of this state of plumage, and some of its stages : U. Grylle, Lath. ; 

 Colymbui Grylle, Gmel. (Linn. !) ; Columba, Groenlandica, Briss. ; Le 

 Petit Guillemot Noir, Buff. ;* Black Guillemot, Lath. ('Syu.'); Penn. 

 'Brit. Zool.,' p. 138, t. H. 4, an individual preserving some of the 

 feathers of its youth; Penn. 'Arct. Zool.,' p. 516, No. 437 Edw., 

 ' Glean.,' t. 50. ; Der Schwarze Lumme, Bechst., ' Naturg. Deutsch,' 

 v. iv. p. 586 Meyer, 'Taschenb.,'vii. p. 446 Meyer, 'Vog. Deutschl.,' 

 T. L Heft, 13, t. 3 and 4 Naum, ' Vog.,' t. 64, No. 6. f. 100, very 

 old male. 



M. Temminck remarks that the indications of the pretended species, 

 Cephui lacteolia( Pallas, 'Spic.' v. 5, p. 33), which Latham has recorded 

 as his Uria lactcola, (' Ind.' v. 2, p. 798, sp. 3) Colymbui lacteolus 

 (Gmel.) have reference to an individual in its winter plumage, acci- 

 dentally variegated with white; and that this albino was obtained by 

 Pallas on the maritime coasts of Holland. 



Mr. Selby observes that from the short description given by Cuvier of 

 his genus Cephus, in the ' Regne Animal,' it is evident that the Rotche, 

 or Little Auk, of some of our writers (Alca Atte) is there considered 

 to be its typical representative, and not the Black Guillemot ; and, 

 he observes, this appears still more evident from the note at the 

 bottom of the same page, in which (after adverting to the figures of 

 thf Lesser and Spotted Guillemots in the second volume of Pennant's 

 ' British Zoology,' pi. 83) Cuvier says, " Ces sont des Guillemots pro- 

 prement dits. Au contraire, I' Alfa AUe, Penn. ('British Zoology,' 11, 

 pL 82, 1; All 'in, 1, 85), appartient aux Cephus" Mr. Selby goes on 

 to remark that Dr. Fleming has however appropriated this generic 

 term to the Black Guillemot, making the distinction between it and 

 Uria to consist in the want of a terminal notch in the upper mandible ; 

 but as this character does not appear to be constant, Mr. Selby having 

 seen some specimens with the notch, though not so fully developed 

 M in the Foolish Guillemot, he has retained it in the situation where 

 it was originally placed by Dr. Latham. 



The note alluded to by Mr. Selby is in the first edition of the 

 ' Rcgne Animal ;' but in Cuvier's last edition (1829), which Mr. Selby 

 does not appear to have seen, the note is omitted. In this edition 

 the generic appellation " Cephut (Vulg. Celouibes de Greenland) " is 

 retained with the same characters, but the subsequent part is very 

 much altered, for it stands thus in the last-mentioned edition : 

 " The species most known, called Petit Guillemot, or Pigeon de Green- 

 land (C'olymbu* minor, Gm. Enl. 917; Mergulus AUe, Vieill., Gal. 295; 

 'Brit. ZooL' pi. H. 4, f. 1 ; Edw. 91 ; Naum. 1st cd. 65, f. 102), of the 

 size of a good pigeon, is black above, white below, with a white mark 

 on the wing as in the Guillemot. Its bill is black and its feet are red. 

 It inhabits all the coasts of the north, and nestles under ground 

 (' niche sous terre '). We see it also sometimes in winter." Notwith- 

 standing the confusion in the passage just quoted, and some parts of 

 the description, references, and alleged nidifieation which can hardly 

 be made to apply to the Little Auk, or Rotche, it seems probable 

 that Cuvier meant to take that bird, as Mr. Selby observes, as the 

 type of his genus Cephtu. 



It is also called the Black Greenland Dove, Sea-Turtle, or Dovekey, 

 by the northern voyagers ; is the Sesekesewuck of the Cree Indians, 

 and Gwylim du Eas gan longwr of the Welsh. 



It inhabits the same countries as Uria Troile ; migratory during 

 winter along the borders of the ocean ; more rarely seen on land than 

 Uria Troile, and then only by accident; very rare in the seas and 

 lakes of the interior. (Temminck.) Widely distributed in the arctic 

 circle, and met with in very high latitudes, inhabiting all the icy 

 regions of Europe and North America. (Selby.) Abounds in the 

 arctic seas and straits from Melville Island down to Hudson's Bay, 

 tffid remains, though in diminished numbers, all the winter in the 

 pools of open water, which occur even in high latitudes among the 

 floes of ice. Small flocks extend their migrations, iu that season, as 

 far south as the United States. (Richardson.) 



Mr. Selby observes that in the northern parts of Scotland and its 

 isles this is a numerous species, but becomes of rarer occurrence as 



we approach the English coast, where indeed it is but occasionally met 

 with. " Although Montagu," continues Mr. Selby, " has mentioned it 



group of islands almost annually during that period ; and had it been 

 a visitant I feel confident it could not have escaped my observation, 

 or that of the keepers of the lighthouse, who reside there. It cer- 

 tainly breeds, though in very small proportion, upon the Isle of May, 

 * M. Temminck speaks of Buffon's description as being correct, but not BO 

 the figure in the ' Planches cnlumine>* (f>17). 



at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, but is not found in large congre- 

 gated numbers till we reach the vicinity of the Orkney and Shetland 

 isles. In these parts it is resident throughout the year, never migrating 

 to the same extent as the preceding species (Uria Troile) and the 

 Razor-Bill Auk. Its habits are very similar to those of its congeners, 

 and it is rarely seen upon land, except for the purpose of incubation. 

 It breeds in the crevices or on the ledges of rocks, whence it can 

 readily drop into the water or get upon wing, and lays a single egg, 

 of a grayish-white, speckled with black and ash-gray. Its food consists 

 of fish, Crustacea (Crustacea), &c." So far Mr. Selby, with whose 

 accuracy as an observer we have often had occasion to be satisfied 1 . 

 Mr. Gould moreover speaks of its depositing on the ledges of the rocks 

 " its single egg." We must however now let one of the most inde- 

 fatigable observers speak for himself, more especially as his account 

 differs so essentially from those above mentioned, and indeed from 

 those of most other authors, except Nuttall. " Wherever," says 

 Audubon, " there are fissures iu the rocks, or great piles of blocks 

 with holes in their interstices, there you may expect to find the Black 

 Guillemot. Whether European writers have spoken of this species at 

 random, or after due observation, I cannot say ; all I know is, that 

 every one of them whose writings I have consulted says that the Black 

 Guillemot lays only one egg. As I have no reason whatever to doubt 

 their assertion, I might be tempted to suppose that our species differs 

 from theirs, were I not perfectly aware that birds in different places 

 will construct different nests, and lay more or fewer eggs. Our species 

 always deposits three, unless it may have been disturbed ; and this 

 fact I have assured myself of by having caught the birds in more than 

 twenty instances sitting on that number. Nay, on several occasions, 

 at Labrador, some of my party and myself saw several Black Guille- 

 mots sitting on eggs in the same fissure of a rock, where every bird 

 had three eggs under it ; a fact which I communicated to my friend 

 Thomas Nuttall. What was most surprising to me was, that even 

 the fishermen there thought that this bird laid only a single egg ; and 

 when I asked them how they knew, they simply and good-naturedly 

 answered that they had heard so." The same graphic author address- 

 ing the reader tells him, in order to satisfy himself, to go to the desolate 

 shores of Labrador. " There," continues the American ornithologist, 

 " in the vernal month of June, place yourself on some granite rock, 

 against the base of which the waves dash in impotent rage ; and era 

 long you will see the gay Guillemot coming from afar by the side of 

 its mate. They shoot past you on fluttering wings, aud suddenly 

 disappear. Go to the place ; lay yourself down on the dripping rock, 

 and you will be sure to see the birds preparing their stony nest, for 

 each has brought a smooth pebble in its bill. See how industriously 

 they are engaged in raising this cold fabric into the form of a true 

 nest before the female lays her eggs, so that no wet may reach them 

 from the constant trickling of the waters beneath. Up to the height 

 of two or three inches the pebbles are gradually raised : the male 

 stands by his beloved ; and some morning when you peep into the 

 crevice you observe that an egg has been deposited. Two days after 

 you will find the number complete." (' Ornithological Biography,' 

 vol. iii.) 



Captain Sir James Ross, R.N., who in March 1823 shot near Igloolik 

 the specimen described by Sir John Rickardson, says that one indi- 

 vidual only was obtained by the expedition during the winter, although 

 several others were seen off Fury Poiut in February, 1833. It was, he 

 adds, subsequently met with in great numbers as they travelled along 

 the high precipitous land between Fury Point and Batty Bay, where 

 the birds congregated in vast quantities during the breeding season, 

 affording to the party many delicious meals, and proving a valuable 

 addition to their then scanty stock of provisions. Several thousands 

 were shot by their sportsmen ; and by means of this providential 

 supply of fresh food several of the men, who had been long afflicted 

 with that most dreadful malady the sea-scurvy, were restored to health. 

 Captain Sir J. Ross adds that it is not equal in flavour to Uria Troile, 

 but is much more numerous and more extensively dispersed along the 

 coasts of the arctic seas. 



The species of this genus are but few. Speaking of Uria lackry- 

 mam, the Bridled Guillemot, Mr. Gould, in his ' Birds of Europe,' 

 where it is beautifully figured, states that he is doubtful of its specific 

 value, as it bears so close a resemblance to U. Troile, from which it 

 differs only in the white mark which encircles the eyes and passes 

 down the sides of the head. It inhabits the same localities as 

 U. Troile, and is even often found in company with it on various parts 

 of our coast, particularly iu Wales, where Mr. Gould has been informed 

 joth kinds are equally numerous. He remarks that it was first 

 described as distinct by Choris, who states that it is abundant at 

 Spitzbergeu and in the neighbouring seas; and adds that M. 

 Temminck and the French naturalists consider these two Uria! 

 distinct. 



If. Brunnichii, Briinnich's Guillemot, the Thick-Billed Guillemot; 

 The distinctions of this species have been well pointed out by Colonel 

 Sabine in his memoir on the birds of Greenland. It is at once 

 distinguished at any season of the year from the Common Guillemot 

 jy the shortness, stoutness, regularity, and greater depth of its bill. 

 [t is on this account that it has been called the Thick-Billed Guillemot; 

 This bird is recorded to have been occasionally seen in the British 

 Islands. It has the habits of the Common Guil' 



