7762 Birds. 



Black Guillemot {Uria grylle). ■ Breeding everywhere in abundance. 

 One specimen had the posterior edges of the upper mandible and the 

 lower edges of the rami of the under mandible deep red, I never 

 found more than two eggs laid by the same bird. On July 3rd, on a 

 small island where there was no appearance of the birds having been 

 disturbed, the greater number had but just commenced incubating, 

 and none of the eggs were hatched. 



Common Guillemot [U. troile). The most common bird on the 

 Labrador coast, — breeding at various points, from the southern ex- 

 tremity of Nova Scotia to the entrance to Hudson's Bay. From the 

 number in which they assemble at their chosen breeding-places, the 

 eggers and fishermen are enabled to collect iheir eggs with great ease: 

 the extent to which these birds are persecuted may be imagined from 

 the fact that, though on the 23rd of June young birds were common 

 at Gannet Rock, where they are but little if at all disturbed, up to 

 July 20th I saw but one young bird on the Labrador coast. At the 

 Murre Rock, so famous at the time of Audubon's visit for the number 

 of guillemots breeding there, on the 2nd of July not more than a hun- 

 dred eggs could be collected, and apparently not over a thousand 

 birds were breeding on it, probably not a hundredth part of their 

 former numbers. On account of the violence of the sea I was unfor- 

 tunately unable to visit the Foxes, as they are called, a short distance 

 north of the Murre Rocks, and at present said to be their favourite 

 breeding-place. Naumann, in his description of the eggs of this bird, 

 states that he has never seen an unspotted specimen. I have several 

 in my possession, and it would be strange if, in a bird whose eggs are 

 so extremely varied in their coloration, they should not occasionally 

 be found of a uniform colour. 



Uria ringvia. As this bird was unfortunately confounded by Au- 

 dubon with the preceding species, it is at present impossible to ascer- 

 tain what were its limits or numbers at the time of his visit. There 

 can be little doubt, however, that it was not at all rare on the Labra- 

 dor shore. None were seen by me at any place, except Gannet 

 Rock, though I think it must breed at other points on the coast. The 

 eggs are said by Naumann to be larger than those of the foolish guil- 

 lemot, and the shell to be smooth, and the spots to be seldom large, 

 &c. The largest guillemot egg found by me was one of the present 

 species, but in respect to the coloration I notice no particular mark 

 by which they could be distinguished. When at Gannet Rock I un- 

 fortunately supposed that I should find this and the succeeding 

 species equally common on the north shore, and neglected to procure 



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