The Sea-birds’ Nursery 
approach to the great auk, which has now 
ceased to exist anywhere on the face of 
the earth. It is extinct. For though it 
was a very much larger bird than the 
razor-bill, and possessed splendid swim- 
ming powers while in the water, it was 
quite helpless when it came out of the 
water for the purpose of laying its egg, 
and feeding its young. It was unable 
to fly, thus resembling the penguins, 
those curious inhabitants of far-distant 
seas. Like them it had advanced in 
one special direction, that of swimming 
and diving, at the expense of the power 
of flight. By degrees the wings had 
slowly become more and more fitted 
for under-water life, until they almost 
resembled the fins of a fish. To make 
them more useful in this direction they 
became smaller and smaller, until they 
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