rLAUTTJS— ALCA. Ig5 



fim/: '■ ''■ ^'^^ ^^^^^^ ' ^"^"■'^^' ^'"'^- ^'■'^- ^'•"- ^^"^' -'^- P- ^^--^iii 



The British Museum possesses two eggs of the Great Auk. These 



wo examples were glued down to boards and exposed to view in 



aild valudesf "^' '''''"^' '''''"' ' ^'''^' ""'^ ^^""^'^l^e^tly bleached 



Their history is doubtful, and I quote Mr. Symington Grieve's 

 account (iom ru., App. p. 29) of these two spedmens :-" British 

 iUuseum. Ihese two eggs probably come from Bullock's collection. 

 At the sale of Bullock's collection in 1819, two eggs were 

 included „i the catalogue (one at p. 31 and the other at p. 131^ 

 Both were bought by Leach, then keeper of the Zoological portion 

 r It"" ^," Museum, and these are presumably the two eggs now 

 n th« ^lu^eum. One of them was actually packed in the same box 

 m which Bullocks bird from Papa Westra was; but that does not 

 ncccssariij-^ lead to the conclusion that the egg came from Papa 

 \ estra lo judge from its age, Newfoundland is probably the 

 place of Its origin. According to other accounts, these two eggs 

 originally belonged to Sir Hans Sloane, all of whose coUcctions 

 became part of the British Museum." 



One of these, in fairly good order, measures 4-6 by 2-9 The 

 second one. a good deal broken but admitting of accurate mea- 

 surement, measures 4-72 by 2-83. Both are broad ovals, inclining to 

 the pynform. ° 



The ground-colour is a dull creamy white, the shell rough and 

 without gloss. In one specimen the markings, which consist of 

 large, more or less confluent, dark brown blotches, are collected 

 chiefly at the larger end, forming a cap; in the second the 

 markings are spread over the whole shell, the larger ones, however, 

 being conhned to the broad end, where they do not form a distinct 

 cap as in the first egg, but rather an irregular zone. 



J here are also casts of four eggs as noted below *, 

 2. Of uncertain origin. Old Collection. 



Genus ALCA, Linn. 



Alca torda, Linn. 



Alca torda Thim. FManz. ges. Voc,. tab. iiie. fig. 3, a-q (1845-54); 



^«.JJ:.,^£^._£„, „^ tab. 15. fig. 2 (1855-63) ;'if«rL«, Egl/s 



f ^7 n^-7?' P P- f""^^^- '■-^'^y"i;,<l»-"^6j ; Dresser, Birds Eur. ^lii. 



p.4._(1884); WW/«^ /y„A Birds, lii. p. 375, pi. 42 (1885) ; id. 



1. Cast of egg in the collection of Prof. A. Newton 



1. Cast of egg formerly in the collection of Mr. A. Trou<»htoii 



ot Uoventrj. "^ ' 



1. Cast of egg in the collection of Mr. A. J. Wollev, and 



tornierly in the possession of Mr. Gould 

 1. Cast of egg from the collection of Mr. Yarrell 



