28 COMMON RAZOR-BILL. 



with white : the breast and all the under parts of the 

 plumage are pure white : the legs are ashy-black. 

 The female has not the white band which runs from 

 the beak to the eye : the space behind the eyes, as 

 well as all the fore part and sides of the neck, are 

 pure white ; in other respects she resembles the male. 

 The young {according to Temminck) are very similar 

 to the female in colour, but the beak is not grooved 

 with white, and is not so broad : the young males after 

 their first moult are distinguished from the young 

 females by the band between the beak and eyes, which 

 is very straight, and but slightly marked. The young 

 of the first year, in both sexes, have the top of the 

 head, the nape, and all the rest of the upper parts of 

 a black-grey ; alid all the under parts are pure white ; 

 the white equally predominating on the sides of the 

 head and towards the occiput, where it is produced 

 in the form of an angle : beneath and behind the 

 eyes is a large dusky brown spot, which reaches to the 

 orifice of the ears : the beak is small, but little elevated, 

 and without grooves : the irides are dusky. 



Montagu, however, asserts that the young differ in 

 no respect from the adults, excepting in wanting the 

 furrows on the beak : he also asserts that the following 

 species, which has been confused by naturalists with 

 the present, is really distinct; but as his observa- 

 tions on these points have been already quoted, when 

 speaking of the Common Guillemot, in volume 1^, 

 page 244 of this work, and in the account of the fol- 

 lowing bird, I shall refer the reader to them, in order 

 to avoid repetition. 



The Common Razor-bill frequents rocky places, 



