64: AUKS, MURRES, AND PUFFINS. 



bill utters a peculiar grunting or groaning, especially when sitting. 

 On the water it may be distinguished from the Guillemot, at a dis- 

 tance, by its upturned tail " (Saunders). 



33. Plautus impennis (Linn.}. GREAT AUK. Upper parts fuscous 

 black, a large white spot before the eye ; secondaries tipped with white ; sides 

 of the neck and throat seal-brown, rest of the under parts silvery white. L., 

 28-00-30-00 ; W., 5'75 ; B., 3-15-3-50 ; greatest depth of B., 1-50 (Ridgw.). 



Range." Formerly the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic, from 

 Massachusetts and Ireland northward nearly to the Arctic Circle " (A. 0. U.). 

 Now extinct. 



Egg, pyriform-ovate, pale olive buffy, variously marked with brown and 

 black, 4-67 x 2-91 (Ridgw.). 



The Great Auk was flightless. Like other birds of this family, it 

 frequented certain localities in large numbers each year to breed. 

 Early voyagers and fishermen visited its nesting grounds, killing the 

 helpless birds in enormous numbers for their flesh, feathers, and oil. 

 The result was extinction, and no living Great Auk has been observed 

 since 1842. About seventy specimens are known to be preserved in 

 collections. (See Lucas, Rep. Smith. Inst., 1891, pp. 638-641.) 



34. Alle alle (Linn.). DOVEKIE; SEA DOVE. Ad. in summer. Upper 

 parts, wings, and tail sooty black ; sides and front of the neck and upper 

 breast somewhat browner ; secondaries tipped and scapulars streaked with 

 white; lower breast and belly white. Ad. in winter and Im. Similar to the 

 above, but throat whiter or washed with dusky, and sometimes a gray collar 

 on the nape. L., 8-00 ; W., 4-50 ; Tar., -70 ; B., -50. 



Range. " Coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and eastern Arctic 

 Oceans " (A. 0. U.). Breeds from latitude 69 northward ; in winter migrates 

 southward, rarely to Long Island and New Jersey ; accidental in Pennsylva- 

 nia and Virginia. 



Long Island, irregular W. V. Sing Sing, A. V. 



Nest, on the ledges and in the crevices of rocky cliffs. Egg, one, pale 

 bluish white, 1-85 x 1-27. 



" On the approach of a vessel this bird has a peculiar way of splash- 

 ing along the surface of the water, as if unable to fly, and then diving 

 through the crest of an advancing wave ; it swims rather deep and 

 very much ' by the stern.' . . ." (Saunders). 



" Its wings are small, but they are moved almost as rapidly as a 

 Hummingbird's, and propel the bird through the air with great rapid- 

 ity. This bird is an expert diver too, and, though awkward on land, 

 swims with ease and grace. . . ." (Chamberlain). 



