BLACK GUILLEMOT. 
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covers being entirely of that colour ; the tips of the 
last secondaries and of the quills, except the first, 
are grey, the colour running along the edge of the 
outer webs for a third of their length ; the bill is 
black ; there is a very slight difference in size be- 
tween the sexes. The young birds, two in number, 
a few days old, were of a dull black ; they were 
taken alive, and kept for a few days ; their time 
of greatest activity was during the night, in the 
day-time, running behind anything the room af- 
forded ; and, if brought out, immediately again 
retiring to their hiding-place. Tho plumage, in the 
winter, varies ; but we are not sure that the young 
always attain what is considered the complete pale 
dress at that season. When shooting, many years 
since, on the Firth of Forth, in January, we were 
driven by a gale to take shelter upon the lee sido of 
Inchkeith ; and, among many other birds that had 
sought refuge there, apparently for a similar pur- 
pose, was a specimen of this bird, which we, from 
what we considered at one time an unfortunate 
change of weather, procured. From the chin down- 
wards it is pure white ; the head, upper part of the 
neck, and sides of the breast, clouded with brownish 
black ; the back of a deeper tint, each feather tipped 
with white ; tho rump nearly pure white ; quills and 
tail black ; and the white conspicuous spots on the 
wings clouded with brownish black. 
Following the Guillemots, and before describing 
the more typical Auks, we may notice a small bird 
