History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

Mergulus. BIRDS. PALMIPIDES. 135and o-rey spots.— Young resemble the winter plumage of the — old birds. InZetland' I have observed the birds with black plumage about the end of February; by the end of March they are common in this their summer dress.Gen. XCVII. MERGULUS. Rotche.—Bill shorter thanthe head; ridge arched; symphysis short and oblique;margins inflected.216. M. melanoleucos. Common Rotche. — Breast, belly,and a dot above the eyes,white ;the rest of the plumageblack.Will. Orn. 2G1.— Alca Alle, Linn. Syst.i. 211.— Little Auk, Penn. Brit.Zool. ii. 517 Uria alle, Temm. Orn. ii. 928— E, -Little black andwhite Diver A winter visitant of the northern coasts.Length 9, breadth 16 inches; weights ounces. Bill black, short and thick,like gallinaceous birds. Legs and toes yellowish. Irides hazel. Tip of thesecondaries white. In this, its summer dress, it was considered as a var. byPennant. In a specimen from Greenland, presented to me in 1809, by thataccomplished navigator Captain Scoresby fan., I was able to perceive the seriesof changes which the plumage of this bird undergoes in connection withthe seasons, the results of which were communicated to Montagu, (Orn- Diet.Suppt.)In winter, the throat, sides, and front of the neck, become white,more or less freckled with dusky in which state ;it is frequent on our shores.Female similar.—Nest in holes or crevices on the bare rocks. Egg 1, bluishgreen.Gen. XCVIII.PROCELLARIA. Petrel.—Nostrils unitedinto a single tubular opening on the upper partof thebill. Lower mandible truncated,* Nail of the bill prominent, arched and toothed on the margin.Tail rounded. Fulmar.217. P. Macialis. Fulmar Petrel.— Tail rounded ;plumage,above, grey beneath, white.;Haffert, Will. Orn. 30C— Fulmar, Martin, Descr. West Isles, p. 283—P. gl.Linn. Syst.i. 213. Penn. Brit. Zool. ii. 549. Temm. Orn. ii.802 N, Mallemacke—Breeds in St Kilda.Length 17 inches ; weight 22 ounces. Bill about 2 inches long, yellow,nail swollen. Legs dusky. Irides yellow. The head, neck, belly, rump, andtail, pure white rest ; bluish-grey the wings ; inclining to dusky. Female similar.—Nest in holes. Egg 1, white.— The young are grey, clouded withbrown, with a dusky spot in front of the eyes. The fulmar feeds on fish andputrid carcases.** Nail of the bill not prominent Tail even orforhed. Petrel.218. P. pelagica. Stormy Petrel.— Tail even, the wings,when closed, extending a littlebeyond its tip ; length of thetarsus |ths of an inch.