252 The Great Auk. [Sess. 



work now for eighty-one years, has no longer the strength of 

 my early days. 



"Monsieur Oursel (father) died a few years afterwards. 

 I acquired the bird from Monsieur Oursel (son) in 1876, but 

 Monsieur Oursel (son), who I believe was not born in 1830, 

 and who had kept his father's collection without having per- 

 sonally any taste for natural history, was not able to give me 

 any information. I do not know whether Monsieur Oursel 

 (son) is still alive, but he sold all his collection in 1881. 



" I did not know that some Alca? had escaped from the 

 volcanic eruption, and had taken refuge on Eldey. Monsieur 

 Oursel (father) believed that they had all been destroyed. 



" Some time from fifteen to eighteen years ago I had a 

 visit from Monsieur Vouga (son), then just returned from 

 Iceland. I had known his father Captain Vouga, and had 

 some years previously paid a visit to his beautiful collection 

 of birds at Cortaillod near Neuchatel (Switzerland). I had 

 there seen a beautiful specimen of the Alca impennis, of 

 which a drawing was given by his son in 1868 in vol. ii. 

 Part I. of the ' Bulletin de la Societe" Ornithologique Suisse,' 

 published at Geneva. Monsieur Vouga (son) had gone to 

 Iceland expressly in order to try and find eggs or skeletons 

 of the Alca impennis on the islet that had been covered by 

 the volcanic eruption, but he was not able to find sailors 

 who would consent to make a landing on the islet. It appears 

 that this islet is the centre of a rapid current, and that it is 

 surrounded by rocks more or less level with the surface of 

 the water. Monsieur Vouga contented himself with ransack- 

 ing kitchen-middens covered over with earth, and brought back 

 many bones of the Alca impennis, but mainly the principal 

 bones. I do not think that he managed to piece together 

 entire skeletons. * 



" Some forty years ago my attention was twice attracted 

 by the announcement of a capture of the Alca impennis, but 

 when I went to verify the fact I found that in each case 

 it was a Colymbus ylaciolis. On the sea especially; the two 

 birds could easily be confounded by seamen who were not 

 naturalists." 



