474! THE NATURAL HISTORY RETIEW. 



condition of fhe specimen now in the " British Gallery" of the British 

 Museum, leads us to suppose, independently of Latham's testimony, 

 that if this story be correct, it refers to the female bird. 



It is a proof of how little negative evidence may sometimes avail, 

 that Low, who died in 1795, in his "Fauna Orcadensis," states 

 (p. 107) that he has " often enquired about the Great AicJc especially, 

 but cannot find it is ever seen here." "We may as well in this place 

 briefly state what we know of other examples of the bird, taken on 

 the shores of the seas which surround the British islands. 



The statement made by Shepherd and Whitear, in the ' Linnean 

 Transactions,' (vol. xv. p. 61), on the asserted authority of the late 

 Sir William Hooker, as to one having been killed near Southwold, 

 has been declared by Sir William himself (Ibis, 1861, p. 898, note) 

 to have originated in error, and it is nearly certain that the reported 

 capture, recorded by Fleming (Brit. Anim. p. 130), of one in such 

 an extraordinary locality as Buckinghamshire, must have been 

 equally a mistake. More probable, yet still requiring further proof, 

 is the story (already alluded to) told by Dr. Edward Moore (Charles- 

 worth's Mag. Nat. Hist. i. p. 361), from the information of a certain 

 Mr. Gosling, of Leigham, that a specimen "was picked up dead 

 near Lundy Island." But the best authenticated account is, that 

 relating to the occurrence of a Gare-fowl, in May, 1834, at the 

 entrance of Waterford Harbour; strange as some of the circum- 

 stances (related by Mr. Thompson, on Dr. Burkitt's authority) are, — 

 " According to the captor, it was apparently almost starved. When 

 in his yawl off the coast, he saw the auk swimming about near him, 

 and held out some sprats, for which it came close to the boat. It 

 was taken with little difficulty. He kept it for some days, feeding it 

 chiefly with potatoes mashed in milk, which were j)artaken of greedily. 

 After having the bird for ten days, he sold it to Mr. Davis, by whom 

 it was sent to Mr. Gough of Horetown, county Wexford, where it 

 lived about four months. For a considerable time, perhaps three 

 weeks, it was not known to eat of anything at its new destination, 

 but potatoes and milk were then forced down its throat, from which 

 time it ate voraciously, until a day or two before its death. This auk 

 stood very erect, and frequently stroked its head with its foot, 

 especially when any favourite food was permitted. When in Mr. 

 Gough's possession, it was chiefly fed on fish, of which fresh-water 

 species (trout, &c.) were preferred to sea-fish : they were swallowed 

 entire. It was rather fierce." {Birds of Ireland, vol. iii. p. 238.) 



