214 
ALCINiE. MERGULUS. 
they often fly in small strings, low over the water, now in- 
clining a little to one side, then to the other. On the ground 
or rock they move little about, although they can walk tole- 
rably well. All the breeding-places are to the north of the 
Tweed and Solway. The species is distributed oyer all the 
northern coasts of Europe and America. 
Greenland Dove. Doveky. Sea Turtle. Little Guillemot. 
Spotted Guillemot. Puffinet. Tystie. 
Colymbus Grylle, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 200. — TJria Grylle, 
Lath. Ind. Ornith. ii. 797. — TJria Grylle, Temm. Man. d’Or- 
nith. ii. 925. — TJria Grylle, Red-footed Guillemot, MacGil- 
livray, Brit. Birds, v. 
GENUS CXLI, MERGULUS. ROTCHE. 
Bill very short, stout, a little decurved, as broad as high 
at the base, moderately compressed toward the end ; upper 
mandible with the nasal sinus basal, broad, and angular, 
the dorsal line convex and decimate, the ridge convex, the 
sides convex at the base, sloping toward the end, the edges 
sharp and overlapping, arcuate, with slight sinuses close to 
the narrow, bluntish tip ; lower mandible with the angle 
long, wide, and feathered, the dorsal line ascending, nearly 
straight, the sides sloping a little outwards, the edges sharp, 
the tip obtuse. Mouth of moderate width ; anterior palate 
flat, with numerous horny reversed papillae ; tongue large, 
fleshy, rather obtuse ; oesophagus of moderate width, pro- 
ventriculus broader ; stomach oblong, muscular, with dense, 
rugous epithelium ; intestine short and narrow ; coeca small. 
Eyes small. Nostrils basal, oblong, with a horny opercu- 
lum. Head oblong, anteriorly compressed ; neck short and 
thick ; body full. Legs very short, rather slender, placed 
far behind ; tarsus compressed, with oblique anterior scu- 
tella ; no hind toe ; anterior toes webbed, the inner much 
shorter than the outer ; claws moderate, arcuate, compress- 
ed, acute. Plumage dense, blended ; feathers oblong ; wings 
small, narrow, convex, pointed ; primary quills tapering, 
the first longest ; tail very short, slightly rounded, of twelve 
feathers. 
Only one species is known. It is intermediate between 
Uria and Alca, and has by various authors been referred to 
one or other of these genera, 
