18 NESTS AND EGGS OK 



it did not possess wings suitable for flight, those members being of 

 very small size and only useful as fins in the water. The specific 

 name, impennis, or wingless, is not really a correct term. The bird 

 was easily captured when on land. A specimen is said to have been 

 taken at St. Kilda in 1822 ; and it was once a well known bird in the 

 Orkneys. 



The last specimens of the Great Auk, two in number, were taken 

 by a party of men in an excursion to a rocky island on the coast of 

 Ireland in 1844. The bird formerly inhabited the coast of Massachu- 

 setts and northward to Greenland and Iceland, as we are assured by the 

 earlier observers, and by the quantity of bones in shell-heaps. There 

 are four preserved specimens in this country, and about seventy skins 

 and eggs in the various museums of the world. This interesting bird 

 is said to have once been found on Bird Rocks in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, but those who visited this place as far back as 1835 do not 

 mention the " Penguin " as occurring there. 



On the American coast the last living example is thought to have 

 appeared on a small island off the southern coast of Newfoundland. 

 About twenty years ago the Great Auk, it is said, was still to be found 

 on the Penguin Islands, 250 miles north of Cape Norman, New Found- 

 land, but of this there seems to be no satisfactory evidence. Mr. R. 

 Dean records one "found dead in the vicinity of St. Augustine, Lab- 

 rador, in 1870."* This one, though in poor condition, sold for $200, 

 and was sent to Europe. Concerning the character, date and dis- 

 position of the specimen, however, there appears to be some question, 

 and it is not likely that the bird lived down to so recent a date. The 

 bird is said to have been a remarkable swimmer, moving upon and 

 under the water with extraordinary rapidity, a specimen in one in- 

 stance having been pursued by a six-oared boat and crew for hours in 

 vain. The Great Auk, the largest of the family, measures about 

 thirty inches in length, the wing six, tail three, bill along the gape 

 four and a quarter. The general color of its plumage is dark above, 

 and the under parts white, extending to a point beneath the throat; 

 the ends of the secondaries are white. There is a white oval spot 

 between the eyes and bill. 



The egg of the Great Auk was laid on the bare rock without any 

 attempt at a nest. The egg is like that of the Razor-billed Auk, but 

 of course much larger. Prof. Robert Ridgway gives the average size 

 as 4.67 x 2.91. t 



* American Naturalist, Vol. VI, p. 368. 

 f Manual of North American Birds, p. 19. 



