


twelve pounds. It is found on the sea-coasts of the 
extreme North. 
Family I. Alcide, (Auks.) 
The wings are short and most often useless for 
flight, but are fully provided with feathers. The legs 
are placed far back, the three front toes are fully 
webbed, and the hind toe is completely absent. The 
short beak is generally narrow and laterally com- 
pressed. The birds live in flocks in the north polar 
seas, and are useful to the inhabitants of those in- 
clement regions for their eggs and oil. 
In the genus Urza the head is small, the neck 
thick, the body oval, the beak moderately long and 
tapering to a point, the wings small, and the tail 
short and rounded, and composed of twelve feathers. 
They dive well, fly heavily, and live in pairs in the 
bird - colonies 
of the northern 
seas. 
Fig. d. The 
Black Guille- 
mot (Uria 
grylle) is very 
commonin the 
northern seas. 
These _ birds 
live in pairs, 
and are very 
much attached 
to one another. 
In the genus Al/ca the beak is very high and 
narrow, with transverse furrows on the sides, and 
a small protuberance at the base of the upper man- 
dible, The short legs are concealed beneath the 
skin of the belly almost to the feet, the wings are 
small and narrow, and the short tail is conical. 
Fig. e. The Great Auk (Alca impennis) is 
Egg of Black Guillemot. 


21 
rather smaller than a goose. It is black above, with 
the exception of a white oval spot near the eye, 
and is white beneath. It formerly inhabited the 
rocky coasts of the extreme north, and though in- 
capable of flight,» used to climb about with great 
activity. It is now believed to be extinct. 
In the genus fratercula the beak is smooth 
and furrowed in front, and when seen from the side 
appears triangular, being very high and narrow. 
There is a soft, elastic space of skin at the angle of 
the mouth. The legs are short, with three com- 
pletely webbed toes; the wings are small and narrow, 
but adapted for swift whirring flight; and the tail is 
short and narrow, and composed of sixteen feathers. 
Fig. f. The Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is an- 
other bird, which makes its nest on small islands 
and rocky places in the northern seas in immense 
flocks. 
In the genus Aftenodytes and its allies the head 
is small, and the beak is long with sharp edges, and 
is compressed at the sides and curved in front. The 
slender neck is placed on an almost cylindrical body 
which is clothed with thick, smooth feathers, and is 
supported in a completely upright position by short 
webbed feet, which are provided with three front 
toes and a free hind toe, which is rudimentary and 
curved forwards. However, the most characteristic 
feature in the penguins is to be found in the long, 
narrow wing-flaps, which are only clothed with short, 
scale-like feathers, and are quite useless for flight. 
The Penguins inhabit the colder seas and coasts of 
the southern hemisphere, swim and dive well, and 
the females incubate their eggs between their thighs. 
Fig. g. The Patagonian Penguin (Aptenodytes 
patagonica) is entirely black above, except two white 
spots over the eyes; the lower part of the body is 
white. The beak is transversely furrowed. It in- 
habits the most southerly parts of South America. 

