LITTLE AUK. 1 29 



rather deep, and very much 'by the stern,' as Mr. Abel 

 Chapman has remarked ; so that, apart from its diminutive 

 size, it is easily recognisable. The Little Auk bears a remark- 

 able resemblance to the Diving Petrels {Pelecanoides) of the 

 Antarctic seas. " Both the birds," says the Rev. A. E. Eaton, 

 " have a hurried flight ; both of them, while flying, dive into 

 the sea without any interruption in the action of their wings, 

 and also emerge from beneath the surface flying, and they 

 both of them swam with the tail rather deep in the water. 

 But this resemblance does not extend to other particulars of 

 their habits. The Rotche, when breeding, usually flies and 

 fishes in small flocks of six or a dozen birds, and breeds in 

 communities of considerable size, which are excessively noisy. 

 Diving Petrels, on the other hand, are more domestic in 

 their mode of living, fishing and flying, for the most part, in 

 pairs or alone, and breeding sporadically." 



Seebohm gives the following account of the habits of the 

 species : — 



" The Little Auk is almost exclusively an oceanic bird, and 

 seldom approaches land except during the breeding season. It 

 sleeps on the water with its head tucked under its wing, and in 

 rough weather is often tossed from wave to wave without apparent 

 injury. It is a very expert diver, and can fly with great rapidity, 

 though it is obliged to move its short wings almost as quickly 

 as a Humming-bird or a Hawk-moth. Its flight is without 

 undulations, but it turns with great ease. It is one of the most 

 gregarious of birds, and Arctic travellers have sometimes 

 estimated the flocks to consist of millions. It does not appear 

 to be very active on the land. It is said to sit on the tarsus as 

 well as on the foot, but only rests on its feet when running. 

 At all seasons of the year flocks of these little birds may be 

 observed in the open Polar seas, diving in search of food or 

 pe^-ching on the masses of ice. Unlike the Guillemot and 

 Razor-bill it is a very noisy bird, and its notes are constantly 

 uttered both when on the wing and when at rest, either on the 

 rocks or on the ice floes, or even when sitting on its egg. Its 

 specific name of alle is said to bear a slight resemblance to its 

 note. 



" Soon after the young are hatched their parents convey 

 them to the sea, where they may often be seen long before they 

 ^5 ^ 



