THE 00L0G18T. 



primaries, and with clear, metallic purple, 

 steel-blue and green reflections on tlie head 

 and neck, thus afibrding a comparison to 

 the Purple Grackle. Ths female is dusky, 

 and considerably less conspicuous. In the 

 autumn, both male and female attain the 

 light edgings upon the body feathers that 

 the young have, but they are not as prom- 

 inent upon the male of this species, as upon 

 some of the other Bhxckbirds. Avis. 



The Foolish Guillemot. 



( Uria lorn via.) 



'T^HE Foolish Guillemot, so named it is 

 -*- said, from suflf'ering itself to be cap- 

 tuT'ed rather than abandon its agg or young, 

 is a native of the more noi'thern coasts of 

 both worlds. It is entirely a maiitime bird, 

 and is exceedingly common along the coasts 

 of Labrador, Hudson Bay and Newfound- 

 land. The ledges and projections of the 

 cliif's that so numerously border tlie sea iti 

 Newfoundland and Labrador are always 

 crowded more or less, with these birds, to- 

 gether with myriads of Putfins. Auks and 

 other sea birds, all of which, pei'ched in 

 vows upon the rocks, present a singular and 

 at once very interesting appeai'ance. A 

 curious picture, especially, is presented by 

 the lines of females, huddled closely togeth- 

 er, each covering its own single egg. The 

 immense congregation of birds, and the reg- 

 ularity with which they station themselves, 

 reminds one of a very large class of small 

 school-children ranged in rows for reciting 

 or calisthenics. The single egg deposited 

 upon the bare earth is pale green, longly 

 pear-shaped and covered Avith umber and 

 black markings, either in spots or large 

 straggling blotches. An egg collected in 

 Labrador in 1873, measures 3.70 by 2 in- 

 ches, but there is no rule for the size. One 

 bird may lay an egg as large as that men- 

 tioned, and its neighbor one no more than 

 three-fourths or four-fifths ot that size. The 

 specimen from which the above dimensions 

 were taken is light emerald green, with not 

 more than half a dozen bl<)tehes, and about 



the same number of streaks of umber and 

 black upon its surface. Its diameter, half 

 an inch from the small end, is .81i inch, 

 thus making the longitudinal approach to 

 the thickest part, at an angle of about fif- 

 teen degrees from the centrical line. It re- 

 quires thirty days for incubation, and the 

 young remain in and about the nest for five 

 or six weeks, until they acquire their per- 

 fect plumage, and can forge aljout after 

 their own food, which consists of small fish 

 of various kinds, water crustaceans and 

 mollusks, found plentifully upon the coasts. 

 The young are covered with a dense dow^n, 

 of blacklsh-gi-ay above and white beneath, 

 and it is amusing what a curious spectacle 

 a community of such looking objects pre- 

 sents. 



During August and September, perhaps 

 later, the Guillemots undergo a moult ; they 

 then take to the ocean, and the change oc- 

 curs white they pass the time upon the wa- 

 ter. They lose so many quill feathers diu-- 

 ing the period of the inoult, that for a time 

 they seem incapable of flight, and employ 

 diving exclusively, as their means of elud- 

 ing danger. They are expert, however, 

 and are as safe in that condition as when 

 in possession of their power of flight. In 

 flying, the Guillemot employs the wings 

 with sharp and rapid strokes, seeming to 

 cause the bird much effort, and the period 

 is of short duration. It seldom flies above 

 a few rods from the watei* or rocks. The 

 favorite post of this bird is the edge of a 

 projectingshelf of rock over the water, from 

 which it can easily discern its food below, 

 and in case of danger, throw itself off to fa- 

 cilitate the immediate use of its wings. 



In this genus ( Uria), the body is thick 

 and robust ; tail very short ; \vings small ; 

 bill straight, acute and of moderate length ; 

 legs short and placed behind the equilibri- 

 um, the tarsi only being seen when the bird 

 sits erect. The whole of the tarsi and feet 

 are employed to support the bird. Male 

 bird is fifteen or sixteen inches in length. 



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