The Zoologist — November, 1870. 2377 



from feathers on side of lower mandible lo tip ISO, tarsus 13G; middle 

 toe and claw 2"10, outer 200, inner TOO. Another specimen: — ciil- 

 men 1"70 ; commissure 2*10 ; feathers on side of lower mandible to its 

 tip 1"55; depth of bill at base "50; width at same point '38. 



An interesting species of Uria, easily recognized by its peculiar 

 colours, which are different from those of either of the other two spe- 

 cies here described. Although unmistakably characterized by Pallas in 

 1811, it seems to have been overlooked by many subsequent writers. 

 It appears, however, in the monograph of Prof. Brandt, who was well 

 acquainted with Pallas' labours and discoveries, and is on different 

 occasions noticed by Mr. Cassin, who has given a figure of it in the 

 Atlas accompanying Prof. Baird's ' Birds of North America.' There 

 is a fine specimen in the Philadelphia Academy, from Kamtschatka, 

 and a mutilated one in the Smithsonian Institution, from Japan. The 

 latter is interesting on account of the new and unusual locality. The 

 bird is chiefly an inhabitant of the higher latitudes on the coasts of the 

 Pacific Ocean. It has not yet become a common bird in collections. 



The species is somewhat larger than U. grylle or U. Columba, but 

 chiefly noticeable, as far as form is concerned, by the greater stoutness 

 and straighlness of the bill, very observable upon direct comparison. 

 The culmen and commissure are nearly straight almost to the very tip, 

 where they are rather suddenly decurved. The gonys and mandibular 

 rami are quite straight; the eminence at their symphysis is well marked. 

 The nasal fossa is short, but wide and deep ; the feathers reach to the 

 nostrils, but do not cover them : these nasal feathers, as well as those 

 around the base of the lower mandible, are dull white. The eyes are 

 conspicuously encircled with white, which stretches behind them for 

 about an inch, tapering to a fine point. There are no indications of 

 while on the wings. With the exceptions just mentioned the whole 

 plumage is sooty black, tinged with slaty above, with brownish below, 

 and becoming light ashy on the under surfaces of the wings. The bill 

 is black, as in the other species; the inside of the mouth probably 

 carmine-red in life. The feet are light yellow in the dried specimens, 

 doubtless vermilion or carmine-red in life. The webs are still tinged 

 with this colour. The claws are black. 



It is possible that the plumage just described is not that of the 

 perfectly adult bird, in which, when fully mature, the white about the 

 sides of the head and base of the bill may not be exactly as here 

 described, and the body colours may be purer and more intense. 

 Dr. Schlegel describes a specimen from the Kurile Islands as " d'un 



