THE AUKS 



[ORDER: Charadriiformes. FAMILY: Alcidce] 

 PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[F. C. R. JOURDAKT. F. B. KIRKMAN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON] 



RAZORBILL [Alca torda Linnseus. RazorbiUed murre, marrot, auk, willock, 

 razorbilled-auk. French, pingouin commun ; German, Tord-Alk ; Italian, 

 gazza marina, tuffetto], 



1 . Description. The adult razorbill may be distinguished at once by the deep, 

 grooved beak, marked with white lines, and the white line running from the beak 

 to the eye. (PI. 95.) Length 17 in. [431-79 mm.]. The sexes are alike. In summer 

 the upper parts are black with a greenish gloss, save the throat and fore-neck, which 

 are of a deep, velvety, brown hue. The secondaries are tipped with white, and the 

 lower throat and rest of the under parts are white, while a narrow, sharply defined 

 line of white runs from the base of the beak to the eye, and a narrow, semicircular 

 line of white, in a deep groove, crosses the beak, which otherwise is black, and is 

 bounded behind by a raised fillet. Two shallow grooves run across the beak in 

 front of the white groove. In winter the sides of the head, the throat, and fore-neck 

 are white, the rest of the plumage is as in summer, but lacks the greenish gloss. 

 The white line from the beak to the eye is only barely traceable, and the fillet round 

 the base of the beak is wanting. The iris is hazel, and the legs and feet are blackish 

 or blackish brown. The young in its first (protoptyle) down plumage has the head, 

 neck, and under parts dull buffy white, the back dark brown, darkest on the rump. 

 The second (mesoptyle) dress is coloured like that of the adult in summer, but 

 rather browner. The beak is relatively much smaller, and lacks the characteristic 

 grooves and white markings, but the white line from the beak to the eye is well 

 defined. By the autumn the young have come to resemble the adult in winter 

 dress, but may be distinguished by the beak which lacks the grooves, thoilgh : .thj&. 

 white line from the beak to the eye is fairly distinct, [w. p. p.] ...'"/ 



2. Distribution. During the breeding season this species, like the gttifl&het;' 

 is found breeding on most of the rock-bound coasts and islets in our group, although 



VOL. III. A 



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