COMMON GUILLEMOT. 457 



primaries they are said to be for a time wholly incapable 

 of flight. When killed here in summer the bill is blac^k ; 

 the inside of the mouth orange ; the irides very dark 

 brown ; head, neck all round, at the upper part, and on 

 the sides and hind part below, the back, tail, and wings, 

 except the tips of the secondaries, sooty black; lower 

 part of neck in front, and all the under surface of the body 

 pure white ; legs, toes, and their membranes dark brown- 

 ish-black ; the whole length of a male bird about eighteen 

 inches ; the wing, from the wrist to the end of the longest 

 quill-feather, seven inches and a half. Females are rather 

 smaller than males. 



The young Guillemot, on its first appearance, has the 

 chin and the throat in front white, the neck in front below 

 slightly varied with a few black hairs, which are lost on 

 the bird's gaining its first true feathers. 



The figure on the left hand in our illustration was taken 

 from a young bird of the year, killed in its first winter ; in 

 this state of plumage they resemble the winter plumage of 

 adult birds in higher northern latitudes, but are distin- 

 guished from old birds by their smaller beak ; the throat 

 remains white till the spring-moult produces the appear- 

 ance observed in our other figure, the ordinary plumage 

 of summer. 



