472 ALCID.E 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 17 in. 



WING 7'3 



BEAK 1-3 



TABSO-METATARSUS 1'25 ,, 



EGG.. 2-9 X 1'9 in. 



GREAT AUK. Alca impennis (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, pi. 

 46 ; Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. viii, pi. 620 ; Lilford, 

 ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vi, pi. 37. 



About sixty years ago, the last recorded surviving speci- 

 men of the Great Auk, also known as the Gare-fowl, was 

 killed off the coast of Iceland. Since then, there has been 

 no substantiated evidence of its existence, though the bird 

 has been looked for in many lands by zealous ornithologists, 

 and there seems to be not the least doubt that it is now 

 totally extinct. It would appear that it had already become 

 scarce in our Islands for more than half a century before 

 its complete extirpation. 



Very interesting accounts have been given by writers 

 who were acquainted with the habits of this strange bird 

 which in some countries was once common, even plentiful. 1 



There are but three well-authenticated British-taken 

 specimens on record: One obtained by Bullock in 1813, 

 from Papa Westray in the Orkneys ; this, an adult male, 

 is now in the British Museum. Another was captured 

 alive on St. Kilda, and received by Fleming in August, 

 1821 or 1822. A third was taken alive near Ballymacaw, 

 several miles from the mouth of Waterford Harbour 2 in 

 May, 1834. This specimen, an immature female, is now 

 preserved in the Museum of Zoology, Trinity College, Dublin. 



1 A vast amount of literature has been written on the habits of the 

 Great Auk, dealing also with questions on extirpation, the finding of its 

 remains, its former geographical distribution, &c., &c. A valuable and 

 exhaustive reference of the chief works on this subject is to be found 

 in a footnote in Prof. Newton's ' Dictionary Of Birds.' pp. 308-309. 



2 According to Mr. Ussher's account, this specimen was not taken 

 at the mouth of Waterford Harbour, but several miles west of it, 



