578 



distinguish it from that species at any distance where its stouter bill and the conspicuous ivory- 

 white patch along the basal margin of the maxilla cannot be discerned. I met with it first in 

 the Bay of Fundy ; and until I shot and handled the specimens I thought that they were common 

 Guillemots. It breeds, like the common species, in cliffs near the sea, depositing a single egg, 

 without making any nest. I possess a fair series of the eggs of this species from Greenland ; and 

 on comparing them with those of the common Guillemot from the English coast, they seem to 

 me to be a trifle more brightly coloured ; but there is otherwise no difference, and I do not know 

 of any character by which the eggs of these two species may be distinguished. 



As is the case with many of our European birds the unravelling of the synonymy of this 

 bird presents considerable difficulty. There is no doubt that it is the Alca lomvia of Linnaeus 

 (Syst. Nat. ed. x. p. 130. no. 4, 1758); for he describes it as follows: — "Rostro lsevi oblongo 

 mandibula superiore margine flavescente ;" but according to the rules of synonymy by which I 

 have always been guided, this name cannot be used, as it dates from prior to 1766. Nor can 

 Briinnich's specific name of svarbag be utilized, for the same reason. The name next in order is 

 that given by Pallas, in 1811, of arm, which has been used by many authors; and until I more 

 carefully worked out the synonymy, I believed that this was the correct name ; and as the Plates 

 were printed off previous to the departure of the late Arctic expedition, in order that I might 

 give the naturalists copies, I lettered it accordingly. It seems, however, that this specific name 

 must also be abandoned ; for Pallas's description will not agree with the present species. Com- 

 paring it with his Cepphus lomvia, which is the Californian Guillemot, he says — " Rostrum 

 multo minus et diversissimum, brevius, compressius, minus robustum, superius magis curvi- 

 lineum, sulco utrinque ad dorsum obsoletissimo versus caput, carina in medio argute angulata, 

 basi minus denudatum." As the Californian Guillemot differs only from Alca troile in the form 

 of the bill, and in having a white iris, it is clear that the bird described by Pallas cannot be 

 Briinnich's Guillemot, which has the bill stouter than in either the common or the Californian 

 Guillemot ; and I therefore have to use the specific name next in order, viz. that of brunnichii 

 given to it by Sabine in 1818. I may also remark that the Alca pica of Fabricius (I. c.) is 

 probably also Bruennich's Guillemot; but the Alca pica of Linnaeus (Syst. Nat. i. p. 210, 1766) is 

 certainly not that bird, but the young of the Razor-bill. 



The specimens figured are an adult bird, in full breeding-dress, from Greenland, and a very 

 young specimen obtained by Professor Newton in Spitsbergen. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser, 

 a, ad.ptil. <est. Greenland {Erichsen). b, c. Mace's-Bay Ledges, Bay of Fundy, December (H. E. D.). 



E Mus. Cantab. 

 a. No locality. b,juv. Ice Sound, W. Spitsbergen, August 16th, 1861 {A. Newton). 



E Mus. A. and E. Newton. 

 a > 6 > b, 2 • Ice Sound, W. Spitsbergen, July 1864 (A. Newton) . c, $ . Aiken Horn, Ice Sound, W. Spitsbergen, 

 July 9th, 1864 [Wagstaffe). d. Safe Haven, Ice Sound, August 16th, 1864 [A. N.). e, 2 ■ Stor Fjord, 

 Spitsbergen, August 1864 (Wagstaffe). 



