430 THE BIRDS OF DEVON. 



and the " Doveky " of the whaler and Polar explorer. In the summer 

 its plumage is all over a rich greenish black, with the exception 

 of a white patch on the wings ; while in the winter it becomes almost 

 entirely white, with a few black spots on the top of the head and 

 neck, and some black bars upon the back and rump, and with the tail 

 and wings black, the white patch on the wings remaining as in summer. 

 This singular change of colour is doubtless protective ; the white jjlumage 

 of the birds in the winter would correspond with the snow-covered cliffs, 

 and render them less liable to be discovered by foxes and birds of prey. 



The Elack Guillemot does not appear to wander far from its summer 

 stations, or there would be more instances of its appearance on our 

 Devonshire coasts. 



Little Auk. Mergulus alle (Linn.). 



A casual visitor, of occasional occurrence, generally in the autumn and 

 winter months ; usually found either dead or in an exhausted condition 

 after storms, on both the north and south coasts of the county. It was 

 very numerous in 1808, and again in 1875, when specimens occurred at 

 Plymouth, Mothecombe, Torquay, and Barnstaple. 



This is the smallest of the cliff-birds, and is a native of Polar seas. 

 It appears as an irregular winter visitor to our southern coasts, and 

 cannot be considered very rare, being occasionally picked up dead after 

 stormy weather, sometimes at places far inland. In North Devon we 

 received one which had been found dead on the sands on the Barnstaple 

 river. This was a young bird with bluish-grey cheeks ; others have been 

 secured near Pjarnstaplc in various years. An adult in winter plumage 

 was captured in the autumn by a friend of ours when bathing at Tor(iuay. 

 He saw the little bird swimming near him on the water, and, diving 

 beneath it, caught it with his hand. The adults in the summer plumage 

 have black throats, which become white in the winter dress. The Little 

 Auk or ' Ilotche ' is described as an oceanic bird, keeping far out at sea, 

 and approaching the cliffs only at the nesting-time. It is a common winter 

 visitor to the Orkneys. 



One "was tnockecl down with a stone by a boy under Plymouth Hoe, December 19th, 

 IS.'iO (R. A. J., ' Naturalist,' 1851, p. tio"; and B., MS. Notes). Another on the Hoe, 

 December 1856 ; oue November 1862 (J. B. R., MS. Notes). One was shot near 

 Plymouth in October 1863; another December lUth, 1867; another was knocked 

 down with n stune at Canu Quarry on the Plyni, six or seven miles from the coast, 

 December 19th. 1869; one in the spring of 1870; one shot in Plyniduth Sound, 

 January 2(;th, 1875 (J. G., Zool. 1863, p. 8832; 1870, pp. 2026, 2113; 1875, p. 4373; 

 and MS. Notes ; B., MS. Notes). 



Montagu met with two specimens, one found dead on the coast of South Devon, 

 December -Jth, 1801, and another taken alive in a pool of fresh water close to the 

 estuary of Kingsbridge (Orn. Diet.). One was picked up dead on the shore at Mothe- 

 combe in Erme Mouth, December 6th, 1871, and several have occurred of late years 

 on the Kiiigsbridge estuary and on the adjacent shores (II. N., MS. Notes). One was 

 caught by a dog near Blank's Mill, on the Xingsbridge estuary, December 2nd, 1886 

 (E. A. S. B., MS. Notes). 



