ALCIN^. 
PHALERIS. 
347 
Upper parts brownish-black ; fore part and sides of head streaked with 
linear, acuminate, white feathers ; tips of secondaries also white ; 
cheeks and a small portion of the throat at the base of the bill dusky ; 
lower parts white, mottled with dusky, the tips of the feathers being- 
of that colour. ' 
Adult, 6, wing, 4. 
North-west coast of America. 
Knobbed-billed Phaleris, Plialeris nodirostris, Bonap. AuD.Orn. Biog. v. v. p, 101. 
GENUS IV. MERGULUS, Ray. SEA-DOVE. 
Bill shorter than the head, stout, nearly straight, suhpen- 
tagonal at the base, compressed towards the end ; upper 
mandible with the dorsal line convexo-declinate, the ridge 
convex, the sides sloping, the edges sharp and overlapping, 
the tip rather obtuse ; nasal depression short and broad ; 
nostrils basal, oblong ; lower mandible with the angle long 
and wide, the dorsal line ascending, straight, the sides 
convex, toward the end ascending and flattened, the edges 
sharp and inclinate, the tip acute, with a sinus behind. 
Head large, ovate ; neck short and thick ; body full and 
compact. Feet short, rather stout; tibia bare for a very 
short space ; tarsus very short, compressed, anteriorly co- 
vered with oblique scutella ; hind toe wanting^ anterior 
toes connected by entire webs, the third and fourth nearly 
equal. Claws rather small, moderately arched, compressed, 
rather acute. Plumage dense, glossy blended. Wings of 
moderate length, narrow, pointed ; the first quill longest ; 
secondaries rounded. Tail very short, slightly rounded, of 
twelve feathers. 
477. 1. Mergulus Alle, Linn. Common Sea-Dove. 
Plate CCCXXXIX. Male and Female. 
Bill black, feet pale flesh-coloured, webs dusky, inside of mouth 
light yellow; head, upper part of neck, and all the upper surface 
glossy bluish-black ; a small spot on the upper eyelid, another on the 
lower, several longitudinal streaks on the scapulars, and a bar along 
