4l6 DIVERS. 



the young are not unfrequently met with. When fed in con- 

 finement, the Auk expresses its anxiety by raising and shaking 

 the head and neck and uttering a gurgUng noise, but appears 

 to be on the whole essentially dumb, as well as deprived of 

 flight. 



Since Nuttall wrote, the Great Penguin of the North Atlantic 

 has become extinct. There is no mystery surrounding the extinc- 

 tion of these birds ; they simply yielded to the inevitable law of the 

 survival of the fittest. Through disuse the wings became unfit for 

 service, and the parents could not reach a place of safety for their 

 eggs ; and though expert divers, and strong, swift swimmers, their 

 legs were almost useless when upon land, and the birds were con- 

 tinually surprised by hunters and captured in large numbers, until 

 the last one perished. 



Not many years ago they were abundant in the vicinity of New- 

 foundland, and they no doubt occurred as far south as the shores 

 of Massachusetts. The year 1842 is given as that in which the 

 last of these Auks were seen. Now a few stuffed specimens is all 

 that can be found of former legions. 



