Mormon arcticus, Bonap. Syn. p. 430.
Puffin or Coulterneb, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 542.
Puffin, Mormon arcticus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 105.
Bill as long as the head, feathered as far as the nostrils, beyond which it is very high, exceedingly compressed, and obliquely furrowed on the sides; upper mandible with the dorsal line decurved, the ridge extremely narrow, the sides nearly flat, the nasal groove very large, and feathered, with its lower margin very narrow, and convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip decurved, very narrow, but obtuse; lower mandible with the angle very narrow, and having a horny triangular appendage, the sides at first extremely narrow, towards the end erect and flat, the edges inflected, the dorsal outline concave, the tip decurved. Nostrils medial marginal, linear, short, concealed by the feathers. Head large, ovate; neck short and thick; body full, rather depressed. Feet placed far behind, short, stout; tibia bare for a short space; tarsus very short, compressed, anteriorly scutellate; hind toe wanting; anterior toes of moderate length, rather slender, scutellate, webbed, the outer slightly longer than the middle. Claws rather small, arched, compressed, obtuse. Plumage close, blended, very soft. Wings very short, narrow, acute, first quill longest. Tail short, tapering, of twelve or fourteen feathers.
473. 1. Alca impennis, Linn. Great Auk.
Plate CCCXLI. Adult.
Bill rather longer than the head, its dorsal line convexo-declinate, upper mandible with a basal and eight terminal grooves, lower with ten or twelve grooves; wings diminutive, much pointed, the primaries tapering to an acute point, the first longest, secondaries broad, scarcely longer than their coverts; tail short, of fourteen feathers; bill black, with the grooves white; feet black; head, neck, and upper parts black, the throat and sides of the neck tinged with chocolate-brown, the wings with greyish-brown, the head, hind neck, and back glossed with olive-green; fore part of neck below and all the lower parts white, as are a large oblong patch before each eye, and the tips of the secondary quills.
Adult, 29, 271/4.
Rare and accidental on the Banks of Newfoundland; said to breed on a rock near that island.
Great Auk, Alca impennis, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 553.
Great Auk, Alca impennis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 316.
474. 2. Alca Torda, Linn. Razor-billed Auk.