103

Ch. 4

British Assoc. 1857 Dublin Zoology. Read F. O. Morris on the specific distinction of Uria troile & lacrymans.

Reference:

Morris, F. O. 1857. On the specific distinctions of Uria troile and Uria lacrymans.  Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1857): 105.
The abstract reads: "The author showed that in the Uria lacrymans the eye is larger than in the Uria troile, and this, in addition to the permanent white streak from which the bird derives its name in the Latin, French and English languages, and the darker colour of old birds, he considered to establish the species distinct. He pointed out the Corvus corone as only distinguishable from Corvus cornix in a portion of the plumage; and though the birds were different in habits, so were the young and the old birds of one and the same species, Larus marinus, the former being gregarious and the other not. On the whole, he concluded that neither in the shape or size of the bill or feet was there any but accidental or temporary differences between individuals of the two species, as imagined by Macgillivray and others, but the distinctions he had pointed out, existing as they did 'semper, ubique, et in omnibus,' were permanent specific characteristics, and marked the individuality of the species."