A VISIT TO ST. KILDA. 177 



54. RAZORBILL Alca torda, Linnaeus. " Falcadh." 

 Almost as abundant as the Guillemot. 



55. GREAT AUK Alca impennis, Linnaeus. "An 

 erbhoil." St. Kilda was perhaps the only part of the 

 British Islands where this now extinct species ever 

 bred. Martin was probably the first naturalist to 

 give us any information of this bird from personal 

 observation. He states that it is "the stateliest as 

 well as the largest of all the Fowls here," and that 

 " he flyeth not at all, lays his (sic) egg upon the 

 bare rock, which if taken away, he lays no more for 

 that year." The Great Auk, so far as we have any 

 record, does not seem to have bred there regularly. 

 The last specimen that was taken at St. Kilda ap- 

 pears to have been in 1822. I am convinced that 

 much of the information which has been gathered 

 at St. Kilda respecting the Great Auk is very 

 unreliable. I should say that the Great Northern 

 Diver has been confused with it more than once. 

 I was informed that half a century ago a Great 

 Auk was said to have been stoned to death on 

 Stack-an-Armin, the natives believing it to be 

 an evil spirit. The old man who had assisted 

 at this ornithological sacrilege recognized at once 

 the drawing of the Great Auk which I had 

 brought with me, but none of the younger men 



N 



