Alcce 241 



Faeroes, and the Baltic, and in the western Atlantic to 

 Massachusetts. Other forms, nearly or entirely black, 

 occupy the rest of the northern regions. It is a quiet 

 bird, easily overlooked by the non-observant, which is 

 generally seen swimming near rocky islands or cliffs 

 with boulders at their base, and flies but little. It 

 lays two greenish white eggs streaked with brown and 

 grey in crevices between the boulders, or occasionally 

 in holes low down in the cliffs. 



The Little Auk (A lie alle) is well known in Britain 

 as an irregular winter visitor, often arriving in great 

 numbers on our northern coasts or found dead on 

 the shore in severe weather. It is seldom altogether 

 absent in winter, but is less common in the south, while 

 it is frequently driven inland by storms, which it seems 

 ill adapted to resist. From Grimsey Island off Iceland 

 it ranges in the breeding season to Arctic America, 

 Greenland and the Kara Sea, and lays one bluish 

 white egg, generally faintly marked with rust-colour, 

 in crevices in cliffs or under stones. The name " Little 

 Auk " is somewhat misleading, and suggests a com- 

 parison with the very different Great Auk. Least Auk 

 would be preferable, as there are many more than two 

 species in the whole Family. The colour is black above 

 and white below except the neck. 



SUBFAMILY Fraterculinse, OR PUFFINS 



By name at least everyone knows the Puffin, Sea 

 Parrot, or Tammie Norie (Fratercula arctica), a black 

 bird with white cheeks and under parts, orange feet 

 and orange and blue bill. The sheath of this huge 

 compressed bill is shed in pieces in autumn. The bird 

 breeds in suitable places all round our coasts, choosing 



E. B. 16 



