494 ALCIDA 
Stranded specimens washed ashore after storms, have 
been recorded; and Mr. Warren tells me that he has 
picked up several—some entire, others half devoured by 
gulls, rats, &c.—on the Shgo coast. 
Of much greater rarity in our Isles is the occurrence of 
the Little Auk in full nuptial dress, of which we have the 
following substantiated records. Thompson mentions an 
occurrence in Ulster on May 22nd, 1846 (Nat. Hist. Irel.) ; 
one shot at Wells in Norfolk on May 26th, 1857 (Stevenson, 
‘ Zoologist, 1857); one picked up dead on the Solent in 
1870, now in the collection of the late Mr. F. Bond ; another 
at present in the Museum at Cambridge (Harting, Handb. 
Brit. Birds, 1901, p. 274); one obtained on Monach Island, 
one of the Outer Hebrides, where the bird is never common, 
on June 24th, 1893 (Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1894, p. 55) ; 
and one received from Tory Island off Donegal, in May, 
1895, by Mr. R. M. Barrington. 
The Little Auk is the least in size of the Family to 
which it belongs: it 1s a neat little creature with snowy 
breast and dark glossy upper parts. At the same time it 
is very hardy and compactly built, well adapted for its 
rough seafaring life, and able to endure and to enjoy itself 
in the intense cold of high Arctic latitudes. American 
fishermen call it the ‘ Ice-bird, for it is often seen in the 
neighbourhood of icebergs. Mr. Saunders mentions that 
when on board a steamer passing through the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, he saw a flock of Little Auks as early as August 
15th, 1884, and there was much ice in the Gulf, and on 
August 16th of this year I detected a few among numbers 
of Razorbills and Puffins when passing an iceberg in the 
same locality. 
Flight.—If necessity arises this little bird can fly with 
considerable speed, but when frightened, as by an approach- 
ing vessel, it usually gets away by flitting along the surface 
of the water for a short distance like a Black Guillemot, 
and then suddenly disappearing from view by plunging into 
a wave. Under water it travels remarkably fast, and when 
it rises to the surface swims rather low. 
Voice.—This species is said to be rather noisy, uttering 
a sound like a@lé-allz, from which its specific name is taken. 
Food.—Small fishes, crabs, and other marine creatures, 
form the diet, and in autumn and winter Little Auks may 
be seen near fishing-vessels in quest of animal offal. ‘‘ Col. 
Feilden found nestlings just hatched on July 28th; and 
