40 CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 



are many visitors to this Museum who have not 

 heard something about the extinction of the Great 

 Auk, and that the market value of the egg of that 

 bird in the present day is about ;!^300 ; as for the 

 bird itself it would not be far off the mark to set the 

 value at /^6oo to £^00. 



Well, there is no fear, I think, of this particular 

 Auk becoming extinct. Anyone who has been a 

 traveller in the steamers that ply between the main 

 land of Scotland and the western islands that lie out in 

 the Atlantic will on a fine spring morning, when the 

 sea is like glass, have noticed hundreds of Guillemots 

 swimming along, and diving quickly down as soon 

 as the steamer got within 50 or 60 yards of them. 

 You will see them in early spring, but after that they 

 are only to be found in their breeding-haunts, where 

 they all congregate together in large colonies for 

 breeding purposes. There are many such places 

 amongst the western islands of Scotland, parts of the 

 west and south coasts of Ireland, and the east coast 

 of England. Flamborough Head is a noted place, 

 and in connection with this particular locality I 

 append a short extract from Mr. W. H. Hudson's 

 book : "Of all the birds that breed in communities 

 they are the most social, or. at all events, crowd 

 closest together. Where they breed on the side of 

 the cliff, as at Flamborough, they may be seen stand- 

 ing in close rows and groups on every ledge or 

 jutting rock large enough to afford them a footing." 



The same author further on remarks : "The 

 single egg of the Guillemot is deposited on the 



