Part 163

Bill rather shorter than the head, with its dorsal line very convex, upper mandible with five, lower with four grooves, black with a white band across each mandible; feet black; head, neck, and upper parts black, the head, hind neck, and back glossed with olive-green, the throat and sides of the neck tinged with chocolate, the wings with brown; lower part of neck below and all the lower parts white, as are a line from the eye to the bill on each side, and the tips of the secondaries. Female similar. Young, in the winter, with the colours similar, but the back duller, the wings more brown, the throat and sides of the head mottled with white, and the bill much smaller, without furrows or white line. Old birds, in winter, with the throat and sides of the neck mottled with white, but in other respects the colouring as in summer.

Male, 17, 29-1/2.

Rare on the eastern coast of the United States, and only during winter. Breeds in great numbers on the Gannet Rock in the Gulf of St Lawrence, on the shores of Newfoundland, and the western coast of Labrador, chiefly in the fissures of rocks.

Alca Torda, Bonap. Syn. p. 431.

Razor-bill, Alca Torda, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 547.

Razor-billed Auk, Alca Torda, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 112; v. v. p. 628.

GENUS III. PHALERIS, Temm. PHALERIS.

Bill shorter than the head, stout, straightish, broad at the base, compressed toward the end; upper mandible with a prominent basal rim as in the puffin, its dorsal line convex and declinate, the sides sloping, the edges sharp, with a deep sinus close to the narrow, declinate, blunt tip; lower mandible with the angle rather long and wide, the dorsal line ascending and a little convex, the sides sloping outwards, the edges sharp, the tip ascending, obliquely truncate. Nostrils linear-oblong, direct, near the margin, in the horny part of the bill. Head rather large, ovate; neck short and thick; body full and compact. Feet short, placed far behind; tibia bare below; tarsus very short, much compressed, anteriorly scutellate; toes three, connected by emarginate webs; middle and outer toes of the same length. Claws rather stout, moderately arched, compressed, rather obtuse. Plumage dense, blended, soft. Wings of moderate length, very narrow, pointed. Tail very short, rounded, of fourteen feathers.

475. 1. Phaleris cristatella, Gmel. Curled-crested Phaleris.

Plate CCCCII. Fig. 4. Adult.

Bill scarlet, with the tips yellow. Upper mandible with a somewhat triangular horny plate at the base detached from the other parts, and a deep oblique groove anterior to the nostrils; lower mandible with a groove on each side; a tuft of about twenty linear recurved feathers from the anterior part of the forehead; general colour of upper parts brownish-black, of lower purplish-grey; a short line of elongated linear white feathers commencing under the eye, and proceeding along the side of the neck.

Adult, 10, wing, 6-3/4.

North-west coast of America.

Alca cristatella, Gmel. Syst. Nat. v. i. p. 552.

Curled-crested Phaleris, Phaleris cristatella, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 102.

476. 2. Phaleris nodirostris, Bonap. Knobbed-billed Phaleris.

Plate CCCCII. Fig. 3. Adult.

Bill deep red, much shorter than the head, stout, upper mandible with a roundish, compressed, decurvate, greyish-blue knob on its ridge, between the nostrils, which are covered by a projecting operculum; tail of fourteen feathers; feet dusky grey; general colour of 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, Phaleris nodirostris, Bonap. Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 101.

GENUS IV. MERGULUS, Ray. SEA-DOVE.

Bill shorter than the head, stout, nearly straight, subpentagonal 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 covered 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 the tips of the secondary quills, together with the breast and abdomen, white; feathers on the sides under the wings with the inner webs dusky, lower wing-coverts blackish-grey. In winter, the throat, and lower parts of the cheeks white, sides and fore part of the neck white, the latter barred with blackish-grey; the other parts as in summer, but the black duller.

Male, 7-1/8, 14-1/4.

Rare and only during winter along the coast of the United States, from New York to Maine. More abundant along the coast of Nova Scotia, and far at sea. Breeds on the Arctic coasts.