AUKS. 105 



eyes, ready to pounce upon any morsel tossed them ; and if a 

 fragment was held up in the hand, they would hover a few feet 

 over it, although not daring to come closer. They also soon 

 became used to our shooting, and scarcely noticed it even 

 when near by. Unfortunately our companionship lasted only 

 about ten days, when I broke camp, and so lost the opportunity 

 of gaining their complete confidence. After the first few days 

 they seemed to appropriate the camp, and made a fierce attack 

 upon any others of their kind that chanced to come near." 



Nest. A cup-shaped depression in the moss. 



Eggs. Two in number. Smaller than those of S. crepidatus, 

 rather paler in tint, and more olive, some being light clay-brown. 

 Two in the Seebohm collection in the British Museum are light 

 bluish-green, very sparsely marked, and all the lighter-coloured 

 eggs appear to be less plentifully spotted. Axis, 2'o-2*2 inches; 

 diam. 1*51 '6. 



THE AUKS. SUB ORDER ALCJE. 



The Auks, though outwardly so different from the Gulls, and 

 possessing features in their economy so dissimilar to the latter 

 birds, have nevertheless many characters in common with 

 them, such as the schizognathous palate, the schizorhinal 

 nostrils, the absence of basipterygoid processes, the furcation 

 of the spinal feather-track on the upper back, and the webbed 

 feet. Externally they differ from the Gulls in their squat 

 appearance, their extraordinary diving powers, their close-set 

 plumage, and in the manner of nidification and the shape of 

 the eggs. They also have a double moult in the year. 



The Auks are all birds of the northern hemisphere, breeding 

 in the arctic and sub-arctic regions. They wander south in 

 winter, but are never found to the south of the equator. Some 

 of them, such as the Puffins, have ornamental plumage in the 

 shape of brightly-coloured crests and tufts of feathers on the 

 sides of the head, as well as an ornamental colour on the bills, 

 which is shed after the breeding season, just as other birds 

 moult their feathers. 



