218 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS. 



that is absolutely startling. Within the memory of 

 middle-aged men, the bird was considered as a common 

 one, and in 1813 great numbers of them were killed 

 and eaten, having been captured at a place called the 

 Auk-Skar, in consequence of the multitudes of Auks 

 which used to'breed upon it. One of these birds was 

 taken alive at St. Kilda in 1822. 



One day it was really almost as circumscribed a 

 time ornithologists woke up to the knowledge that 

 the Great Auk had disappeared from the face of the 

 earth. The sharpest watch was set in every place 

 which the bird had been known to visit, and expedi- 

 tions of skilled ornithologists scoured sea and land in 

 hopes of lighting upon the bird. All was in vain, and 

 the only remains of this once plentiful bird are to 

 be found in thirty-four skins and forty-two eggs, not 

 more than were taken in one day at the Auk-Skar in 

 1813. The birds were well known in the Orkneys as 

 the king and queen of the auks, but, as far as we know, 

 the living bird will never again receive a name from 

 anyone. 



As is the case with most of the Auk tribe, the eggs 

 were laid on rocky shelves, or similar spots, and were 

 inaccessible to ordinary foes. None but the stout- 

 hearted cragsman, with his trusty rope, could descend 

 from the top of the cliff to the resting-place of the 

 Great Auk, or ascend from a boat. 



Like the marine birds in general, it was accustomed 

 to seek its food among the fishes, and those who knew 

 its habits said that it fed chiefly upon the common 

 Lump-fish (Cyclopterus lumpus). It also lived upon 

 various Crustacea and similar creatures. It fed its 



