THE LITTLE AUK. '5? 



evident that these birds contribute largely to the support of the Arctic Highlanders 

 during summer" ("Ibis," 1877, p. 410). The birds crawl in among the rocks, 

 winding far in through narrow places, and lay their single egg in safety from the 

 numerous foxes (" Zoologist," 1878, p. 410). 



The food of the Little Auk is believed to consist entirely or almost entirely 

 of small crustaceans. Saxby states that in almost every specimen that came into 

 his hands the stomach was quite empty, but that he had seldom seen the bird in 

 poor condition. 



Colonel Feilden gives the following interesting account of the food and habits 

 of the Little Auk, as observed by him in the "north water" of Baffin Bay. 

 " Myriads of Little Aiiks swarmed around us, busily employed fishing for Entomos- 

 traca, flocks of them diving just in time to avoid the ship's stem. These birds 

 use their wings vigorously to propel themselves under water. It was observable 

 that the individuals in a diving flock kept their relative distances and bearings 

 under water with as much correctness as if on the wing, and all returned to the 

 surface within a second of one another. During the breeding season the pouch- 

 like enlargement of the cheeks gives them a singular appearance. The contents 

 of the cheeks is a reddish coloured substance, which on close examination is found 

 to consist of immense numbers of minute Crustacea. The adaptation of the mouth 

 in this species as a receptacle for the food required for their young, does not 

 appear to have attracted much attention among naturalists ; and yet a little con- 

 sideration would have shown that some such arrangement must be required. With 

 fish feeders, such as Alca, Uria, and Fratercula, no difficulty arises in transporting 

 food to their young ; but in the case of Mergullus alle, which I believe subsists 

 entirely on minute Crustacea, the bill is manifestly incapable of conveying the 

 requisite amount of food, especially as very often the breeding places of the Little 

 Auk are found inland at considerable distances from the sea" ("Zoologist," 1878, 



P- 383). 



The noise made "by these little birds, when collected in large numbers, is said 

 to be heard at a great distance, and, being a highly pitched sound, to drown that 

 of other birds. 



The Norsk name is " Alke-Konge," and at Flamborough I have heard it 

 called the Dwarf Auk. In Malmgren's list of the birds of Spitsbergen (appended 

 by Wheelwright to his "Ten Years in Sweden") the local name is said to be 

 "rot ges" from their peculiar cry of " rott-tet-tet-tet." It is the Rotche of Polar 

 voyagers, and the Ice-bird of American fishermen. 



The adult in summer has the bill black ; iris dark brown ; head, chin, throat 

 and neck all round, back, wings and tail black, glossy on the upper parts; a small 



