392 BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES 



Nearctic Regions. The adult male in breeding plumage 

 has the whole of the upper parts black, tinged in places with 

 green; secondaries, tipped with white; a pure white Hne 

 runs from the eye to the top of the bill; remainder of 

 plumage, white; irides, dark hazel; bill, black, with a white 

 band across the centre on both sides; legs and feet, blackish. 

 Length, about seventeen inches. The female is like the 

 male. In the young the white line in the front of the eye 

 is scarcely discernible, and the white bands on the bill are 

 absent. 



<5reat Uuk. 



( See frontispiece. ) 



The Great Auk {Alca inipeimis^ Linnaeus), which is now 

 undoubtedly an extinct species, formerly inhabited the North 

 Atlantic basin. The adult has the general colour of the 

 plumage similar to that of the razorbill, but its large size, 

 and the oval patch of white reaching from the eye to the 

 base of the bill, at once furnishes a means of identification. 

 Length, about thirty-two inches. 



