OF THE UNITED STATES 177 



Great Auk, and it will be remembered that it was upon these 

 islands that this bird was known to be last alive on our shores. 

 Of all existing Auks perhaps the species as near related to the 

 Great Auk (Plautus impennis) is the Razor-billed auk (Alca 

 torda), a form which is abundant upon certain of the islands and 

 parts of the coasts of the North Atlantic, and which in winter 

 may sometimes be found as far south as southern New England. 

 An adult specimen of this auk has a length of about eighteen 

 inches and an extent of twenty-seven. During the summer 

 months both the bill and the feet are black, the former having an 

 oblique white line across each mandible. The mouth within is a 

 bright yellow. Audubon, who examined many fresh specimens, 

 says the iris is deep hazel; others state that it is bluish. All the 

 lower parts are white, as is also the lower part of the neck in 

 front. For the rest of the general plumage they are black, tinged 

 with deep brown and green. From the bill to the eye, upon each 

 side, runs a narrow line of white; the tips of the secondaries are 

 also white, the rest of the wing being a deep brown. The sexes 

 a iv alike, but the young are duller and mottled with white about 

 the sides of the head and throat. These auks are good flyers, 

 swimmers, and divers. They live largely upon shrimps and other 

 marine animals. With other Alcidw they breed in the fissures 

 and other apertures among the high rocky cliffs of their northern 

 home. The eggs, one or two in number, are generally laid in May 

 or June. 



Another very interesting auk, one of the smaller species, 

 which rightly claims a place in our avifauna is the Dovekie (Alle 

 dllc). This bird is found upon nearly all the coasts and off-lying 

 islands of the North Atlantic ocean and Arctic seas, where it 

 breeds. In the winter-time it has been found as far south as New 

 Jersey. A male of this species has a length of something over 

 seven inches, having a black bill, hazel irides, and flesh-colored 

 feet. The head and all the upper parts are of a glossy blue-black, 

 while below the bird is pure white. The female has the throat 

 white in winter, and the black is considerably duller. The eggs 

 of the dovekie are two, being of a pale greenish-blue color. 



\Yhen it occurs off our coasts in the winter, it is sometimes 

 blown inland during heavy storms, but this is by no means fre- 

 quently the case. 



We also have interesting genera in our anklets and murrelets, 

 which are represented by at least a dozen species too many in- 



