326 



THE MUSEUM. 



eral character, being isolated rocks, ly- 

 ing at some distance off shore and dif- 

 ficult of access. Of course this reason 

 for similarity is apparent. 



The Great Auk and its eggs formed 

 desirable articles of food, and since the 

 bird was helpless on land, it was easi- 

 ly captured, whence it came to pass at 

 an early date that the bird was exter- 

 minated at all localities easy of access. 

 Another and more important factor in 

 the extermination of the Auk, espec- 

 ially in America, is to be found in the 

 gregarious habits of the bird and its 

 predilection for certain breeding places. 

 This habit of the Garefowl is shown by 

 other birds which are restricted in their 

 breeding habitat, without any appar- 

 ent reason, although there may be 

 some unknown cause in the nature of 

 food-supply that might account for it. 

 A good example of this is found in the 

 Gannet, which, although a bird of 

 powerful flight, breeds at only three 

 localities on the eastern coast of 

 America, and in Europe crosses the 

 North Sea to nest in Scotland, when 

 localities seemingly quite as favorable 

 exist along the shores of Norway. 

 There were apparently plenty of suit- 

 able breeding- grounds for the Great 

 Auk in Maine and Labrador, but had 

 the bird bred in small colonies at lo- 

 calities scattered along this wide ex- 

 panse of territory, it would have been 

 in existence today. 



The most important breeding-place 

 of the Garefowl was an islet 25 miles 

 off Reykjanes, Iceland, where, for 

 many years, it led a somewhat preca- 

 rious existence, several times seeming 

 to have been so reduced in numbers 

 that expeditions in search of birds and 

 eggs were not worth the risk. Still 

 the bird would have existed in this lo- 



cality many years longer than it did, but 

 for volcanic disturbances in March, 

 1833, during which the Gierfulasker 

 sank beneath the level of the sea com- 

 pelling the existing Garefowl to seek 

 new breeding-places. Most of them 

 appear to have moved to an islet by 

 the name of Eldey, and this being near 

 the coast and more accesible, the few 

 remaining Great Auks were in the 

 course of fourteen years all killed, 

 the last pair being taken about the 

 3d of June, 1844, this being the last 

 authentic record of the Great Auk in 

 Europe. It was from this locality that 

 most of the skins now extant were ob- 

 tained, only one mounted specimen 

 being recorded from American locali- 

 ties, although nearly all skeletons have 

 come from Newfoundland. The his- 

 tory of the Great Auk in America may 

 be said to date from 1534, when on 

 May 2 1, two boat's crews from Car- 

 tier's vessels landed on Funk island, 

 and, as we are told, "In lesse than 

 halfe an hour we tilled two boats full 

 of them, as if they had been stones. 

 So that besides them which we did eat 

 fresh, every ship did powder and salt 

 five or sixe barrels of them." The 

 Great Auk having thus been apprised 

 of the advent of civilization in the reg- 

 ular manner, continued to be utilized 

 by all subsequent visitors. The French 

 fishermen depended very largely on 

 tne Great Auks to supply them with 

 provisions; passing ships touched at 

 Funk Island for supplies; the early 

 colonists barrelled them up for winter 

 use, and the great abundance of the 

 birds was set forth among other in- 

 ducements to encourage emmigration to 

 Newfoundland. The immense num- 

 bers of the Auks may be inferred from 

 the fact that they withstood these 



