The Razor-Bill.
Numb. X C V .
T S ' riot To big as the tame Duck: Between the tips o f the Wings, when
A fpread, it was twenty feven Inches broad; its Head, Neck, Back and
Tail, in general its whole upper lide, is black: Its Belly arid Breaft as
far as the middle o f the Throat white. The' upper part of the Throat
under the Chin hath fomething o f a dusky or.purpliih black. Each
Wing has twenty eight Quill-Feathers; the tips o f all the covert Feathers
to the eleventh are white. The Tail is three Inches long, made
up o f twelve Feathers; the exterior ihorter by degrees than the interior:
T h e Excefs o f the two middlemoft above the next to them is greater
than that o f the reft.
The Bill from the tip to the angles o f the Mouth is two Inches long,
o f a deep black, narrow or comprefled fide ways; a little beyond the
Noftrils in the upper Mandible there is engraven a Furrow or Incifion
deeper than that o f the Coulter-Neb-, as far as this Groove the Bill is
covered with a thick, ihort, foft Down, like the Nap o f Velvet-, the
upper Chap is crooked at the end, concave and over-hanging the
lower: Both are of equal length, channelled with two tranfverfe Furrows
or Grooves (the .upper for the moft part with three;) that next the
Head which is the wideft, and almoft croffes the whole Bill, being white:
from each Eye to the corner o f the upper Mandible is a narrow whitiih
Line:. The Mouth within is o f a lovely yellow; the Eyes hazel Colour;
the Legs are fituate as in the Tengum and Coulter-Neb, o f a black Colour,
as are alfo the Feet and Claws; it wants the back-Toe. It lays,
fits and breeds up its young ones on the Ledges o f the craggy Cliffs
and fteep Rocks by the Sea Shores; their Eggs are large and white varied
with black Spots: This Bird was lent me out o f TTorkfloire by my
very good Friend Mr. Knowlton Gardiner to my L ord Burlington.