Part 56

During most of the year the Razorbill lives far out at sea in the Atlantic, never coming within sight of land unless driven inshore by some winters gale.

It is an expert swimmer and diver, and though it flies well and swiftly with rapid beats of its small wings, it rarely avails itself of that means of progression. It feeds entirely on small fish. Early in April it repairs to the cliff where it is to breed, but it is not until May that the large single egg is deposited in some nook or recess of the cliff often quite hidden from view. If, however, suitable recesses are not handy, it will content itself with an open ledge. The egg is white or buffish in ground colour, boldly marked with chocolate brown and black. Incubation, which is carried on by both sexes, lasts about five weeks. The young bird when first hatched is covered with short down and is blackish on the back, white beneath, and yellowish on the head. It remains in the nest for about three weeks, by which time it is covered on the back and breast with downy feathers and has tiny wing feathers caused, as in the case of the game birds, by the rapid growth of the primary wing coverts.

At this age the young may be found in the sea, having presumably been carried down by their parents; they can swim readily, but it is said that unless forcibly made to dive by their parents they remain on the surface. In captivity, however, they dive without hesitation on the least sign of alarm, using both wings and feet, and progress with considerable rapidity under water.

At the age of about two months the flight feathers proper begin to grow, and then the autumnal moult takes place.

In summer the adult has the head, neck, chin, throat, and back deep blackish brown, a narrow line from the eye to the culmen white, and the rest of the under parts white. The bill is black and vertically flattened; it has two or more grooves near the tip that are whitish. It varies greatly in size, and is much larger in some individuals than in others, this difference being probably due to age. The sexes are alike, and in winter the chin and throat are white. Except in the size of the bill, the young bird resembles the adult after the first moult. Length 17 in.; wing 7·3 in.

THE GREAT AUK Alca impennis, Linnæus

So much has been written on this now extinct species that it need hardly be mentioned here.

The last living example was killed off Iceland in 1844, and the last British example was captured in 1834 in Waterford Harbour.

In former times it was abundant round Newfoundland, and especially on Funk Island, where the fishermen used to salt it down for food, and soon extirpated it.

In appearance it was like a large Razorbill, but it had very small wings and was quite incapable of flight. The lores and under parts were white, upper parts black. Length 32 in.; wing 4·25 in.

THE COMMON GUILLEMOT Uria troile (Linnæus)

In its habits, food, and actions this species closely resembles the Razorbill, and they are usually found breeding on the same cliffs. The numbers at a colony can only be reckoned in countless thousands, the birds sitting crowded together as close as possible.

This species lays its egg on the bare open ledges and never seeks the nooks and recesses made use of by the Razorbill. The eggs are very pear-shaped, a wise provision which prevents their rolling off the narrow ledges on which they are laid. In colour they are most variable; the commonest variety is greenish in ground colour with brown or black streaks and markings; cream varieties somewhat resembling those of the Razorbill are not uncommon, but they may always be distinguished by the yellowish white lining membrane, whereas in the Razorbill the membrane is greenish.

The young bird when first hatched is covered with iron-grey down on those parts of the body which are brown in the summer dress of the adult. The under parts are white and there are a few bits of white down on the head.

In its habits and moults it resembles the young Razorbill.

In summer the adult has the upper parts, chin, and throat dark brown, and the rest of the body white. The black bill is long, pointed, and sharp, and not flattened as in the Razorbill. At the autumnal moult the brown on the chin, throat, and back of the head is replaced by white, and in this and the other allied species all the flight feathers are moulted at the same time. Length 18 in.; wing 7·5 in.

There is a curious variety of this bird known as the Ringed or Bridled Guillemot, which may be distinguished in summer by having a narrow white ring round the eye which stretches backwards for a short distance along the feather crease behind it.

BRÜNNICH'S GUILLEMOT Uria bruennichi, E. Sabine

This species breeds in the north of Iceland, Greenland, Spitzbergen, and on suitable cliffs throughout the Far North. Some three or four examples only have been taken off our shores.

In habits and appearance it very closely resembles the preceding species, but it may be recognised by the general colour being much darker and lacking the brownish tint of the common species. The bill is stouter and black with a whitish line along the upper mandible from the nostrils to the gape. Length 18 in.; wing 8·25 in.

THE BLACK GUILLEMOT Uria grylle (Linnæus)

In England this species is rare even in winter, but in Scotland and Ireland it is fairly common, and breeds in suitable spots round all the coasts.

The Black Guillemot differs in many respects from the other Auks and it is never found in vast colonies, though several pairs will often breed in close proximity. Some hole or recess in a cliff or among broken rocks on a steep slope is chosen and two eggs are deposited, which are whitish spotted with grey and brown and elliptical in shape. Both sexes take part in the incubation, and the young are said not to leave the nest until they are fully fledged. Their food consists of fish and crustaceans, which they obtain by diving.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and in summer are of a uniform sooty brown all over, with the exception of a patch on the wing, which is white. Bill black. Legs vermilion red.

In winter the crown is black marked with white, the back barred with black and white, and the rest of the plumage white. The young resemble the adults in winter but are rather whiter. Length 14 in.; wing 6·5 in.

THE LITTLE AUK Mergulus alle (Linnæus)

This species is an inhabitant of Arctic seas, breeding in Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Franz Josef Land, but it does not occur in Arctic America nor to the east of the Kara Sea. In winter it migrates southwards and a few are found round our northern shores every year, but in severe winters it often occurs in considerable numbers, and many storm-driven birds are found in a dying condition far inland.

There is a small white spot over the eye, but otherwise the plumage is sooty black on the upper parts. The under parts are white, but in summer the chin and throat are black. Length 8·5 in.; wing 4·65 in.