BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY. 



85 



that they paddled along like the chunky Little Auk. I labeled them Briinnich's 

 Murres or immature Razor-billed Auks and drew a rough sketch of one of them. 

 Learning some time later that the cocked-up tail of the Auk when swimming 

 always distinguishes him from the Murre I sought my notes. The sketch 

 showed a tail pointing vertically upwards ! The lesson is obvious. In the adult, 

 the larger bill of the Auk distinguishes the bird from the Murre, but in the 

 immature Auk the bill is almost as small as that of the Murre. Both birds are 

 short-necked and stout, black above and white below. 



[33] Plautus impennis (Linn.). Great Auk; "Penguin." Long since extinct but for- 

 merly common on our shores (see page 60). 



10 [34] Alle alle (Linn.). 

 Dovekie ; Little Auk; "Pine Knot"; "Knotty"; "Ice-bird." 



Winter visitor, varying irregularly from uncommon to abundant ; Novem- 

 ber 4 to April 30. 



Although the Dovekie is found every winter off the coast, especially at the 

 end of Cape Ann, it is only exceptionally that it is found in numbers near the 

 beaches and general coast line. By sailing off from Rockport in winter one may 

 find them outside of the Salvages which are three miles from Rockport, and 

 sometimes a few may be seen nearer shore than this. In the exceptional years 

 Dovekies are found abundantly not only along the whole coast, but even in the 

 harbors, creeks, and rivers, and they not infrequently reach the ponds and 

 marshes several miles from the sea. 



One of the largest visitations of the Dovekies was in the winter of 1 877— 

 78, and I found them common at Magnolia then and took note of their inter- 

 esting ways. They were very tame and unsuspicious, permitting a close 

 approach. They occurred singly and in small flocks. From a point above them 

 on the rocks I watched them use their wings in flight under water, and they 

 preferred to escape in this way when disturbed. They rarely resorted to aerial 

 flight. The only time I heard any of them make a sound was on cne occasion 

 when after firing my gun from a rock jutting out over the ocean, a Dovekie 

 came swimming by uttering a sharp cry. One little fellow I saw flit into a 

 rocky cove at low tide, and drop down among the seaweed, where he was found 

 and dispatched with a stick. When shot at on the water they dive at the flash 

 and escape unless the gunner is within close range. I remember wading out in 

 the chilly December water on a gently sloping beach at Manchester, so as to get 



