PALMIPEDES. oGl 



a black calotte and mantle ; white beneath. It sometimes builds its 

 nests among tlie cliffs on the English coast, and is very common on 

 those of France during the winter*. 

 M. Temminck distinguishes, under the name of Staryques (Phaleris), 

 those species which have a less elevated billf . 



The true Auks have a more elongated bill, resembling in form the blade 



of a knife ; it is covered with feathers as far as the nostrils. Their wings 



are decidedly too small to support them, and therefore they never attempt 



to fly. They are sometimes seen in France and on its coasts during winter. 



Alca torda and pica, Gm. ; Pingouin commun, Enl. 1004, the 



adult, 1003, in summer plumage, Edw. 358, 2, Briss. VI, VIII, 2, 



Brit. Zool. pi. H, 1. (The Common Auk). Black above, white 



beneath ; a white line on the wing and one or two on the bill. The 



throat of the male is black, and there is a white line reaching from the 



eye to the bill. Its size is about the same as a duck's. 



^Ica impenniSf'L.; Le Grand Pingouin, Buff. IX, xxix; Enl. 

 367; Edw. 147. (The Great Auk). Nearly as large as a goose, 

 the colours very similar to those of the preceding species ; but the 

 bill is entirely black and marked with eight or ten grooves, and there 

 is a white oval spot between the bill and the eye : its wings are shorter 

 in proportion than those of any other species of this genus. It is said 

 to lay but one large egg, spotted with purple. ^^ 



Aptenodytes, Forst. 



The Penguins "are even less capable of flying than the Auks. Their 

 little wings are covered with mere vestiges [of feathers, which, at the first 

 glance, resemble scales ; their feet, placed farther behind than those of 

 any other bird, only support them by bearing on the tarsus, which is wi- 

 dened like the sole of the foot of a quadruped, and in which are found three 

 bones soldered together at their extremities. They have a small thumb 

 directed inwards, and their three anterior toes are united by an entire mem- 

 brane. They are only found in the Antarctic Seas, never going on shore 

 except to build their nests. They can only reach their nests by drawing 

 themselves painfully along on their bellies. The difference in their bill 

 authorizes their division into three subgenera. 



Aptenodytes, Cuv. 



The Penguins, properly so called, have a long, slender, and pointed 

 bill; the upper mandible a little arcuated near the end; covered with fea- 



• Add, /J. cirrhaia, Pall. Spic. V, pi. 1 ; Vieill. Gal. 299. 



t /Ilea cristatcUa, Vieill. Gal. 297', or Staryque crystatelle, T. Col. 200, and Pall., 

 Spic. Zool. V, pi. 1, of which A. pi/gvuea is the young;— ^if. psiliactila, Pall., Spic. V, 

 pi. 2, of which ^. tetracula, lb., pi. 4, is the young. 



X Alca, Aik, Auk, the name of these birds in tlie Fero Islands, and in the north 

 of Scotland. That of Penguin, first given to the Aptenodytes of the south by the 

 Dutch, indicates the oily nature of their fat. See Clusius, ICxot. 101. It was Buf- 

 fon who transferred this name exclusively to the northern Auks. 



