498 



THE DIVIXO BIRDS — PVGOl'ODES. 



siiecimen, in tbe British Museum, is ruconletl by Fiofussor Nuwtou in "The Ibis" lor 1805, 

 p. 518 — said to have iiiiiie from Ictlaml ; ami in the "Arctic Manual " (IHTr)), \). 109, lie rciniirka 

 that Ilolbbll says that lie lias seen in (ii-eenhuul an "entirely black e.\ami)le," which is probably 

 the same species. Tlie latest testimony that we have is that of Mr. L. Kumlien, who accompanietl 

 the Howgate Polar E.^cpeililion in 1877-1878, and who saw "three entirely black specimens," 

 whicli were considered to lie U. cnrho. " One was pnicured in Cumberland, but was lost." 



It will tiius be seen tliat we have abundant and incontrovertible evidence of the existence in tbe 

 hij,'her latitudes of the North Atlantic of a uniformly black or dusky Guillemot. Some authors 

 have referred it to C. carlo, but it is evidently distinct from that species, which seems to be strictly 

 confined to tlie Asiatic coast of the North Pacilic. Others have considered it a, melanism of 

 C. grijlle; but tlie Iart,'er si/.e ami very diJferent projiortions preclude the likeliliood of such relation- 

 ship. Upon tlie whole, there can Ix,- littlt; duubt that it is a distinct species, probably most nearly 

 related to 0. carlo, and representin;,' the latter in tiie North Atlantic. At any rate, it should lie 

 kept in miiul by those who have the opp<jrtuuity of investigating the avian fauna of the northern 

 waters of the Atlantic.^ 



Genus BRACHYRAMPHUS, Brandt. 



Brachyramphus, Bhandt, lUill. Ac. St. Pctersb. II. 1837 (tyi>e, Culymbus marmoratus, Gmel.). 

 Apokiplmi, BuAXDT, 1. c. (same tyix,-). 



Char. Size small (wing les.s than 5.50 inches). Bill small and slender, much shorter than 

 the head (not hmger than the short tarsus), conii)ress( d, and acute ; culnien gently curved, gonys 

 nearly straight ; mandibular tomium notched near tb^- tiji, and greatly inflected toward tbe bai<e ; 



D. mannoratiu, summer dress. 



nasal fossa) small, shallow, mostly filled with feathers, which nearly conceal tbe very small nostrils ; 

 head without ornamental ]>lumes. 



The exact number of species composing this genus is a matter of some doubt. The following 

 k(!y includes those whose validity is cjitablisbed, and also another (B. Irevirostris), which, if not 

 identical with li. KittUtxi, must also Ix; a well-marked sjiecies. 



' A much more detailed history of this bird, by Dr. L. Stcjncger, in nn article entitled Remarks on 

 the Species of the Genus Cepphti-i, will soon Ije published in tbe Proceedings of tbe United States 

 National Museum. We have been kindly pvnuitted by Dr. .Stejneger to compile the iufuiiuation given in 

 the present article from bis uanusciipt. 



