380 



THE GREAT AUK. 



the novelty of the call, to please rather than disgust those happj 

 few who may be willing " to find good in everything." This peculiar 

 cry, is well known to the aboriginal sons of the forest, and among 

 the Crees the species is called 'Hah-haway, so much like the syllables 

 I have given above, that many might imagine my additions no more 

 lhan a version of the same. 



OF THE AUK TEIBE IN GENERAL. 



THE bilk of these birds are thick, convex, and, except in very few 

 species, are compressed at the sides, and crossed with transverse 

 furrows. The nostrils are linear, and situated parallel to the edge of 

 the bill. The Auks have three toes, all placed forward. 



The Auks are, for the most part, inhabitants of the Northern Ocean. 

 They breed in holes, which they sometimes dig in the earth, or in the 

 fissures of rocks ; and lay but one egg. They generally rest in these 

 holes during the night. Their feet are placed behind the centre of 

 gravity, which makes some of the species stand with their heads 

 almost upright. 



THE GREAT AUK. . 



The Great Auk is an inhabitant of the Arctic Circle, but is some- 

 times seen in the 

 northern islands of 

 Scotland. The 

 wings of this bird 

 are incapable of 

 raising it into the 

 air, but serve ad- 

 mirably as paddles 

 when diving. It 

 breeds principally 

 on the shores of 

 Iceland and Spits- 

 bergen, laying one 

 large egg on a cleft 

 of a high rock. The 

 eggs are extremely 

 scarce, and fetch a 

 very high price 

 among collectors, a 

 circumstance which 

 has caused some 

 most ingenious im- 

 positions. In one 

 case two of these 



