556 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



face and chin very smoky white; the upper parts 

 and the collar round the neck are black, and all the 

 under parts white; the legs, toes and webs are a 

 sort of dusky brown : it is smaller than the adult, 

 and might almost be mistaken for the Little Auk at 

 the first glance, except for the white marks on the 

 scapulars and tertials. 



The egg is of dull white, with a few indistinct 

 bluish drab spots. 



RAZORBILL, Alca torda. This is another of the 

 occasional stragglers from the Lundy and South 

 Wales breeding stations. It is a larger bird than 

 the Puffin, quite equalling, if not exceeding, in size 

 the Guillemot, which bird it very much resembles in 

 its habits, collecting in great numbers at the same 

 breeding stations : they seem, however, to be a little 

 more particular in the choice of a place in which 

 to lay their eggs, generally choosing niches and 

 crannies in the rocks to lay them in, rather than the 

 mere ledge of rock, often only just wide enough for 

 the egg : the cause of this greater care probably is 

 that the eggs, not being so pear-shaped, would roll 

 off if placed in the same situation. 



As with the rest of the family, the food of the 

 Razorbill, both old and young, is fish and a few 

 Crustacea. 



There seems at one time to have been consider- 

 able doubt concerning the different plumages of this 

 bird. Colonel Montagu considering the young bird to 



