AUKS, MURRES, AND PUFFINS 



29 



RAZOR-BILLED AUK 

 Alca torda LiiiiKnis 



A. O. U. Xumber 3J 



Other Names. — Razor-bill ; Tinker. 



General Description. — Length. 18 inches. Color 

 above, black; below, white. Bill, flatly compressed; tail, 

 pointed. 



Color. — Adults in Summer: Head and neck all 

 around, and upper parts, black, more brownish on 

 former, a slight greenish-gloss on latter; tips of second- 

 aries and entire under parts from neck, white ; a sunken 

 line of white from eye alongside of forehead to bill; 

 bill, black, crossed by a white line; feet, dusky; iris, 

 brown. Adults in Winter: White extending to bill, 

 invading sides of head to level of eyes and neck ; no 



."^ce (.'nlor Piatt- ? 



white line from bill to eye; color of upper parts, duller. 



Nest and Eggs. — Usually one egg, sometimes two. 

 is laid on the bare rock of cliffs or islands along the 

 coast, very variable in shape and size of markings; 

 white or bluish, spotted and blotched with sepia or 

 black, these spots sometimes wreathed in a circle around 

 the large end ; in others diffused over entire surface. 



Distribution. — Coasts and islands of the north 

 .\tlantic ; breeds on American side from southern 

 Greenland to Newfoundland and New Brunswick; 

 winters from New Brunswick and Ontario to Long 

 Island and rarelv to North Carolina. 



The Razor-billed Auk presents a strikint,' and 

 intere.sting apjiearance in the water, which it 

 rides as buoyantly as a cork. Like all of its kind, 

 it is exceedingly quick and clever at diving, a 

 method of escape which it always adopts in pref- 

 erence to flight, when it can. It slips under the 

 surface with hardly any perceptible or audible 

 splash, and it is quite impossible to tell where it 

 will reappear. When fairly submerged the bird 

 swims — using both wings and feet — with as- 

 tonishing speed and often descends to a consid- 

 erable depth. It feeds largely upnn fish and 

 various small marine creatures, and takes vir- 

 tually all of its food from the sea. When it 

 chooses to take to its wings, it can fly with much 

 rapidity. In summer it is decidedly gregarious 

 and the flocks often are seen far from land. If 

 then overtaken by heavy gales, large numbers of 

 the birds are drowned. 



As the breeding season approaches, the birds 

 abandon temporarily their nomad sea life and 

 gather in large flocks at established breeding 

 places, preferably on cliffs overlooking the ocean, 

 and containing an abundance of niches and re- 

 cesses, where the single egg is laid, no nest being 

 made. The incubating bird is very loath to lea\c 



the egg, and often when so engaged may be 

 taken in the hand. There are many evidences 

 that the birds mate for life. 



Drawing by R. I. Br.-isliLT 



RAZOR-BILLED AUK ij nat. size) 

 It rides the ocean as buoyantly as a cork 



GREAT AUK 

 Plautus impennis {Limuvu 



A. O. U. Xumber ,33 



Other Names. — Garefowl; Penguin; Wobble. 



General Description. — Length, 30 inches. Color 

 above, black; below, white. 



Color. — Adults: Hood and entire upper parts 

 including wings, black; ends of secondaries, white 

 forming a traverse band ; under parts, white extending 

 to a point on throat ; a white oval spot between bill and 

 eye ; bill, black with lighter grooves ; feet, black ; iris, 

 brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Site probably similar to 

 that of the Razor-billed .^uk. Ecr, : i, white or bluish- 

 white, spotted and blotched with shades of umber- 

 brown and sepia. 



Distribution. — Formerly inhabited coasts and islands 

 of the north .Atlantic from near the .Arctic Circle south 

 to Massachusetts and Ireland, and probably south casu- 

 ally to South Carolina and Florida and the Bay of 

 Biscay ; now extinct. 



