282 
JNEW-YORE. FAUNA — BIRDS. 
GENUS MORMON. Illiger. 
Bill shorter than the head, very much compressed, as high as the head at the base, trans¬ 
versely and obliquely grooved on the sides, covered at the base by a wrinkled callous 
membrane : both mandibles much curved and notched. Nostrils margined, linear, narrow, 
almost entirely closed by a naked membrane. Nails much curved, acute. Tail of sixteen 
feathers. 
THE ARCTIC PUFFIN. 
Mormon aucticus. 
PLATE CXXXVIII. FIG. 301 (Young). 
(STATE COLLECTION.) 
Alca arctica, Lin. p. 211. Puffin, Pennant, Arct. Zoology, Vol. 2, p. 511. 
Mormon arcticua. Illiger, Prod. p. 283. Bonaparte, Ann. Lyc. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 430. Nuttall, Man. Orn. 
Vol. 2, p. 542. Audubon, Birds of Am. Vol. 7, p. 238, pi. 454. Giraud, Birds of Long 
island, p. 373. 
Characteristics. Black; beneath white. A broad black collar round the neck. Bill red, 
much compressed: both mandibles with at least three lateral grooves 
before the nostrils ; lower mandible but little curved. Young, yellowish 
dusky, smooth. Length, 12'0. 
Description. Half of the bill adjoining the head, leaden blue; the remaining part red: 
upper mandible with four furrows; the lower with three. Irides hazel; orbits red. A 
triangular callous protuberance above the eye ; an oblong one beneath. Top of the head and 
all above black, passing round the neck in a broad collar. Sides of the head and all the under 
parts pure white. Chin greyish or white. Legs and feet orange. From a fresh specimen 
shot December 12, on Long island: Bill, measured from above, 1'5 long, notched near the 
tip. Indistinct traces of the lateral grooves ; the first in front of the nostrils most prominent: 
depth of the bill at base O'9 : lower mandible with a conspicuous angle, obliquely truncated 
at the tip : commissure sinuous. Tarsus 1 * 2, not as long as the middle or outer toe. Tail 
short, slightly rounded. 
Color. Eyes dark hazel. Bill horn-color in front, darker towards the base. Inside of the 
mouth orange : no wrinkles at the corners of the mouth. Tarsus light greenish before, dark 
brown or blackish behind. Toes flesh-colored: webs light orange. Front and summit of 
the head blackish brown, composed of feathers forming an imperfect hood. A deeper hue of 
black commences on the middle of the neck, forms a collar around it, and covers all above. 
A disk of clear ash on each side of the head, including the eyes and the chin beneath, and 
