450 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



visitor. The following remarks from an interesting little work 

 entitled ' The Ornithologist's Guide to the Islands of Orkney and 

 Shetland/ published in 1837 by Robert Dunn, the father of Mr 

 Joseph H. Dunn, now of Stromness, may not be out of place : 

 " I have never seen a living specimen of this bird, nor do I believe 

 it ever visits Shetland. I made inquiries at every place I visited, 

 but no one knew it: had such a remarkable bird been seen there 

 I must have heard of it. During my stay in Orkney, and while 

 on a visit at Papa Westra, I was informed by Mr Trail, whom I 

 had the pleasure of seeing two or three times, that a pair of these 

 birds were constantly seen there for several years, and were chris- 

 tened by the people the King and Queen of the Auks. Mr Bullock, 

 on his tour through these islands, made several attempts to obtain 

 one, but was unsuccessful. About a fortnight after his departure one 

 was shot and sent to him, and the other then forsook the place. 

 Mr Trail supposed they had a nest on the island, but on account 

 of its exposed situation the surf must have washed the eggs from 

 the rocks, and thus prevented any farther increase." Ten years 

 later another little work on the Natural History of Orkney was 

 issued by Dr W. B. Baikie and Mr Eobert Heddle, who thus speak 

 of the Great Auk: "This bird has not visited Orkney for many 

 years. One was seen off Fair Isle in June, 1798. A pair appeared 

 in Papa Westra for several years." 



With the exception of Otho Fabricius, no author whom I have 

 consulted appears to have had an opportunity of ascertaining 

 from personal observation the nature of the food of this bird. 

 In his Fauna Grcenlandica, that writer states that it consisted of 

 Coitus scorpius, Cyclopterus lumpus, and other fishes of the same size.* 

 He likewise mentions that he had seen the young bird covered 

 with grey down taken in the month of August, from which he 

 concluded that it was but a few days old : its stomach contained 

 littoral plants he mentions rose-root (Rhodiola rosea) and no 

 fishes. In the same work Fabricius remarks that the young bird 

 has not the white patch in front of the eye. In his day the adult 

 bird appears to have been very rare, and was known among the 

 Esquimaux by the name of Isarokitsok, which means "little 

 wings." 



A figure of the Great Auk, drawn by W. B. Hawkins, from 



* Latham and Selby repeat this in their respective works, but have omitted 

 to state their authority. 



