6 THE AUKS 



The summer dress differed from that of the razorbill only in that the white stripe 

 in front of the eye was enlarged to form a large oval patch of white, while the white 

 lines on the beak seem to have been rather less conspicuous. In immature birds the 

 feathers of the upper parts had pale margins, and the plumage generally was browner, 

 while the white patch on the face was only faintly indicated. The beak was smaller 

 than in the adult, and lacked the grooves and ridges. The winter dress was like that 

 of the razorbill. The young in down is said to have been of a dark grey colour. 

 [w. P. P.] 



2 and 3. Distribution and Migration. Symington Grieve, in his mono- 

 graph on " The Great Auk or Garefowl," defines the limits within which this extinct 

 species is supposed to have occurred, as follows: From Disco Island 1 along the 

 west coast of Greenland and eastward to Cape Dan; from thence aline to the North 

 Cape in Norway marks its supposed limits in the N. Atlantic ; southward along 

 the Norwegian coast and that of Sweden south to Malmo, including the Danish 

 coasts ; thence along the German, Dutch, Belgian, French, and Spanish coasts to 

 Cape Finisterre, while a line from here to Cape Cod defines the southern limits of 

 the species ; along the coast of New England, the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and 

 the Labrador coast to Kyucktabuck, and thence north possibly to Disco Island (?). 

 Since then the southern limit on the American coast has been extended by 

 the discovery of bones on the Carolina and Florida coasts. The chief breeding- 

 places within these limits appear to have been Eldey, Geirfuglasker, Fuglasker, 

 and the Westmann Isles off the coast of Iceland ; Sandoe in the Faeroes, Papa 

 Westray in the Orkneys, St. Kilda ; and on the west side of the Atlantic, Funk 

 Island, Penguin Islands, and "Aponars," off Newfoundland, Cape Breton, possibly 

 the Bird Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Cape Cod ; and the Darrells or 

 Graahs Isles on the east coast of Greenland. Of these, only the Iceland, Faeroe, 

 Orkney, St. Kilda, and Funk Island stations are regarded by Blasius as certainly 

 known. [F. c. R. or.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. The great-auk made no nest, but laid its single egg 

 on shelving rocks or low-lying coasts within a short distance of the sea. The 

 breeding season is said to have been in June. At some of its breeding-places 

 large numbers appear to have bred close together, as guillemots do at the present 

 day, and this seems to have contributed to their extermination, as expeditions 

 were fitted out to kill off the birds for food during the breeding season. Steenstrup 

 states that when the egg or young were destroyed, no attempt was made to lay a 



1 More recent researches tend to prove that Disco Island should be deleted, as it is extremely 

 doubtful whether the species has ever been obtained there. 



