"It is now ten years since my friend M. Marmottan recollects having killed, in September, 1867, in the Baie de Somme, a Puffin, from the beak of which several pieces were becoming spontaneously detached.
"The best way of obtaining a comprehensive idea of the changes which the beak and the palpebral appendages of the Puffin undergo after the breeding season is undoubtedly to cast a glance at the movable pieces figured on the accompanying Plate ; but the pheno- menon is complex, and thoroughly to understand its different phases one must first comprehend the constitution of these parts in the adult in spring and in winter.
"The adult Fratercula urctica in spring has the beak elevated at the base, the lower mandible regularly curved from the base to the extremity. The beak is divided into two very distinct parts; one, the posterior, undergoes the phenomenon of moulting; the other, the anterior, remains unaffected:—
"1. The posterior portion is formed by the combination and suture of nine horny pieces, which disunite and fall apart after the breeding season. These are: on the upper mandible (fig. 1), the horny pleat (l'ourlet corné), a; the nasal covering (la cuirasse nasale), b; the two subnasal flakes (lamelles), c; and the two transparent flakes, e, which cover the posterior part of the first ridge (bourrelet). On the lower mandible, the two horny bands (lisérés cornés), f, and the chin-sheath (cuirasse mentonnière), g.
"2. The anterior, or persistent portion, presents three ridges and three furrows, which I may designate (going from base to point) as the 1st or great ridge (I.), the 2nd or middle ridge (II.), the third or little ridge (III.); the 1st or great furrow (1), the 2nd or middle furrow (2), and the 3rd or little furrow (3). Lastly, the beak is terminated by a smooth piece, forming a triangle with a curvilinear base, which I call the point, of the beak (h). At the
true popular name. OrnithologistW, not understanding the allusion to the change of
mask, would see only in the final Tauscher the German name for "Diver," der Taucher, ill pronounced. But I will venture no further on the dangerous ground
of etymology, which is nut my province, and I hasten to conclude with this
simple reflection, which I submit to German naturalists:— If the Larventauscher,
le Changeur de Masque, is the true name of Fratercula, it is only right that it should
be restored ; if not, it may well be bestowed on it, for it is impossible to express
more accurately in one word the remarkable physiological phenomenon which
characterizes this bird.
