BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
9 
Subfamily FRATERCULIN.E. Puffins. 
Genus FRATERCULA Brisson. 
Fratercula arctica (Linn.). 
Puffin. 
Description. 
Adult , in winter .—Bill quite stout, flattened laterally and nearly as high as long; 
both mandibles with curved and distinct grooves ; bill and legs (dried skin) brown¬ 
ish yellow ; upper parts and space on front of neck brownish-black; throat and 
sides of head grayish-white, under parts white. Length about 13£ inches; extent 
about 24 inches. 
Habitat .—Coasts and islands of the north Atlantic, breeding on the North Ameri¬ 
can coast from the Bay of Fundy northward. South in winter to Long Island, and 
casually further. 
The Puffin or “ Sea Parrot,” as this bird is frequently called, has been 
observed in Pennsylvania only as an accidental winter visitant. But 
one specimen of this species has, so far as I can learn, been captured in 
our state. This bird, now in the possession of Mr. Joseph Krider, of 
Philadelphia, was killed by a gunner in the winter, about 1876, along 
the Delaware river, near Chester city. The Puffins, according to differ¬ 
ent writers, breed either in crevices of high rocks or cliffs on the sea- 
coast, or in burrows which they dig in the ground. These holes, it is 
stated, are usually excavated to the depth of about three feet. “ Their 
food consists of various kinds of small fish, particularly sprats, the 
smaller kinds of crabs, shrimps and sea-weeds, and it is not improbable 
but that their sudden migrations are regulated by the presence or ab¬ 
sence of certain kinds of fish on which they delight to feed.”— Nuttall. 
Subfamily PHALERINjE. Guillemots, Etc. 
Genus CEPPHUS Pallas. 
Cepphus grylle (Linn.). 
Black Guillemot. 
Description. 
Adult in winter .—Bill black, sharp-pointed, quite straight and shorter than the 
head ; head, neck, under parts, rump, and space on wing white ; back, wings and 
tail dark brown or black, mixed with white; tarsi reddish. Length about 13 inches; 
extent about 23 inches. 
Habitat .—Coast of northern Europe, south to Denmark and the British Islands. 
Coast of Maine, south in winter to New Jersey. 
The Black Guillemot, an inhabitant of the dreary coasts and islands 
of the north Atlantic, is a rare and irregular straggler in winter on the 
Atlantic coast, southward to New Jersey. In Pennsylvania this species 
has been observed as an accidental wanderer in winter. A specimen in 
the museum at Lancaster city, Pa., was taken, it is said, on the Susque- 
