384 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Josef Land, Spitzbergen, Grinnell Land, Baffin's and Hudson's Bays, 

 and, according to Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, of Labrador ; but as the 

 Atlantic subspecies is the form found in Newfoundland and South Green- 

 land, the latter locality appears very doubtful. East of Nova Zembla, Nor- 

 denskiold found it breeding on the east coast of the Taimur peninsula ; 

 the Naturalist of the ' Jeanette ' observed it on Herald Island and Wrangel 

 Land, and it was found breeding in great numbers on Bennett Island. It 

 winters in Behring Sea, and possibly in small numbers in the Atlantic. 

 The Atlantic form breeds in the Bay of Fundy, on the coasts of New- 

 foundland, Labrador, South Greenland, Iceland, the Faroes, Ireland, Scot- 

 land, Denmark, and the Baltic, on the Norwegian coasts, and eastwards 

 as far as the White Sea, where it was found breeding by Henke at Onega. 

 Iii winter it is found on the American coast] of the Atlantic as far south 

 as Massachusetts Bay, and in Europe on the shores of the German Ocean 

 and the coasts of Northern France. In addition to the northern form 

 already mentioned, which will probably bear the name of Alca grylle 

 mandti, the Black Guillemot has a close ally in the North-Pacific A. 

 columba) and its allies A. columba carbo and A. columba motzfeldi, all of 

 which may be distinguished by having the under surface of the wing smoke- 

 grey instead of white. 



In its habits the Black Guillemot very closely resembles the Common 

 Guillemot and the Razorbill. It is a bird of the sea, and only visits 

 the rocks to rear its young. At all times of the year it is sociable, 

 though perhaps never seen in such vast assemblies as the Common 

 Guillemot. It is more usual to see half a dozen birds swimming and 

 feeding together, sometimes close in shore, in the sheltered sea-lochs, 

 paddling amongst the floating seaweeds and ever and anon diving to 

 catch a tiny fish or search for crustaceans. The Black Guillemot loves 

 a rock-bound coast ; the surf is never too rough or the sea too stormy 

 for this bird. It is by no means shy, unless repeatedly fired at, and 

 allows a boat to approach quite close ere it dives with the rapidity of 

 thought and again appears far out of danger. It swims most buoy- 

 antly, sitting high and lightly on the water, with head and neck extended. 

 No bird rivals it in diving, and its progress under water, aided by its 

 wings as well as its feet, is quite as rapid as its passage through the 

 air. It dives with such rapidity that it is very difficult to shoot at 

 a long range, disappearing at the flash of the gun and being safe from 

 danger ere the shot strikes the water where it was sitting a moment 

 before. The flight of the Black Guillemot is rapid, straight, often con- 

 siderably prolonged, performed by incessant beatings of the small 

 narrow wings, and is seldom elevated more than a few feet above the 

 surface of the water. As it approaches the rocks the bird gradually rises 



