322 AUK. 



Brijfcu's figure feems in a ftate prior to both of thefe, as la 

 that the forehead is likewife white*. 



In the firft ftate, then, it mould feem that the bill is fmall, and 

 quite deftitute of furrowsf; in the next, a fmall furrow at 

 the bafej; in the third, the furrows complete, but without 

 the white ftreak either acrofs the bill, or that between the bale 

 of it and the eye § ; and laftly, both of them complete, with the 

 addition of the black plumage of the head ; which, as we have 

 proved, does not come on till the ftage of perfection ||. What- 

 ever has therefore been faid under the head of the .Razor-bill, 

 mull be applicable to this ; and that it breeds before it comes to its 

 perfection in plumage fhould feem not improbable, as Fabricius 

 pofitively mentions the circumftance^f. It is faid to be met with 

 on the coaft of the IJle of Candia, and other parts of the Medi- 

 terranean; where no doubt the complete old bird is likewife 

 found, as I have been informed that they are common in the 

 Bay of Gibraltar., where it is curious to fee their a&ivity under 

 water when^purfuing thef/h ; for, as the water in the Bay is fome- 

 times clear for a great depth from the furface, thefe birds may 

 be often feen as it were flying after their prey, with all the 

 agility of a bird in the air, turning in every direction after the 

 fjh, with fuch wonderful addrefs and dexterity as feldom to mifs 

 their aim**. 



* Vol. vi. pi. 8. fig. 2. f Alca deleta, Bruti. N° 104. — Muller, p. 17. 



J Unifulcata, Brun. 102. § Balthica, id. 101. Ij See the bills in 



the firft and laft ftages, Four in Wales, vol. ii. pi. 20. at the bottom. 



^[ Faun. Greenl. p. 79. — He obferves that they are in greater plenty in Green- 

 land than the Razor-bills, in the breeding-feafon, and that they difperfe in winter. 



** yj 9 are indebted to Colonel Davits for this laft anecdote. 



Alca 



