742 EGG OF THE GEEAT AUK. 



proper element." Accordinpj to the same writer, the Great Auk is said to have been 

 tolerably plentiful near Newfoundland and about Nahant. 



According to Mr. Lloyd, this bird formerly frequented certain parts of Iceland, a 

 certain locality called the Auk-Skar being celebrated for the number of Auks which 

 nested upon it. The Skar, however, is^ so difficult of approach on account of the heavy 

 surf wliich beats upon it, that few persons have the daring to land. In 1813 a number of 

 Auks were taken from the Skiir, and, horrible to relate, they were all eaten except one. 



For more recent accounts of this bird I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. 

 E. Champley, who has brought together a large mass of information on the subject, and 

 most liberally furnished me with many valuable notes. The following passages are 

 portions of letters addressed to Mr. Champley by recent travellers. 



Sir L. M'Clintock, of the celebrated little vessel Fox, writes as follows : — " The Great 

 Auk has not been met with by any of the modern arctic expeditions. I was told 

 in South,Green]and, twenty -five years ago, that a young specimen was obtained, -but am not 

 certain of the fact. The resident Europeans are quite aware of the value attached by 

 naturalists to the bird, so have kept a sharp look-out for it." The same correspondent 

 again writes : — " Nothing has come to my knowledge respecting the Great Auk during 

 my late voyage to Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador." 



Dr. Eae writes as follows : — " I regret I have little or no information to give you about 

 Alca Impennis, although I questioned many persons in Iceland about this rare, if not 

 extinct bird. An ineffectual search w^as made for them some time ago on an island N.W, 

 of Iceland, where they had previously been not uncommon." Captain Allan Young, E.N., 

 of the Fox, writes : — " To my own knowledge, we never saw the Great Auk, nor has the 

 bird been seen for many years on the south coast of Greenland." 



Mr. Proctor, curator of the Durham Museum, writes : — " One bird was bought, 183-i, 

 by the Eev. I. Gisborne, for 8^. I was in Iceland in 1833, and made every inquiry and 

 sought for it, but never saw a single bird. I went to the northern parts of Iceland in 

 1837 in search of it again, and travelled through the nortliern parts, and as far as 

 Gremsey, Iceland — a small island forty miles north of the main land — but could not meet 

 with it. I have never seen the bird alive, neither have I ever had the eggs." 



Mr. David Graham mentions, that in 1846 he met a fisherman in Iceland who had two 

 Auks and two eggs which he offered for 20Z., an offer which was refused, to the writer's 

 great subsequent regret. The two birds were sent to Copenhagen and the eggs were 

 broken. In 1821 ]Mr. Maclellan, of Scalpay, obtained a Great Auk alive, but allowed it 

 to escape after a while. Another specimen was taken by Mr. Adams, of Lewis, Hebrides, 

 which had been caught in a net. Nicholson says that in 1804, at the mouth of the 

 Bull Eiver, in Greenland, the Great Auks were caught in great numbers, and served as 

 sustenance to the inhabitants through the months of February and March ; their down 

 being made into outer garments. In 1858 Messrs. J. WoUey and Alfred Newton went to 

 Iceland, but were unable to land on the Auk-Skar, or even see a bird. They obtained 

 bones from the inhabitants. 



Owing to the extreme value attached to this bird and its eggs, and the high price 

 which it brings in the market, ingenious attempts have been made to forge copies of the 

 eggs. Not many years ago, several apparently genuine Auk's eggs w^ere offered at a low 

 price, but turned out to be nothing more than forgeries admirably manufactured, and 

 really valuable as copies of the true egg. I am acquainted with the names of the persons 

 connected with this imposition, but need not mention them. 



j\Ir. Champley has lately made a tour through Europe, and collected evidence of every 

 bird and genuine egg in existence, and has kindly forwarded to me a copy of his list. It 

 is too long to be transcribed at length, but may be condensed as follows : — 



Altogether, thirty-four birds and forty-two eggs are known, which are distributed as 

 follows : — -England possesses fourteen birds and twenty-four eggs. The British Museum 

 has two eggs and two birds ; and very few collections, either private or public, can boast 

 of both egg and bird. Sir W. Milner has one of each, and so have Mr. J. Hancock and 

 Mr. Troughton. Mr. Champley's collection is, however, the most valuable, as it includes 

 one bird and four eggs. A photograph of his bird and an egg is now before me. 



