Birds of Massachusetts. 261 
The Lirrte Guittemot, Uria alie sometimes 
called the Little Auk or Pigeon Diver, dwells far 
within the arctic circle, and was found by Dr. Rich- 
ardson at Melville Island. In hardiness and power 
of enduring cold, no bird exceeds them ; in the depth 
of winter, when the ice of the ocean is lifted and 
broken by storms, they are seen crowding to the fis- 
sures, to find a supply of food. They seem to 
delight in tempests, which, by agitating the waters, 
throw up in greater quantities the marine produc- 
tions on which they depend for subsistence. In 
Newfoundland they are called the Ice-bird, from 
the presumption that, unless extreme cold were 
approaching, they would not come so far from 
home. Those that are found in this State are gene- 
rally exhausted by their long flight; some have 
quietly submitted to be taken by the hand. They 
are not regular visitants, but occasional, solitary 
wanderers. 
The Puorriw, Mormon arcticus, commonly called 
the sea parrot, has been found in severe winters as 
far south as Savannah; but thisis unusual; its com- 
mon range is from Long Island to the Bay of Fundy, 
where many of them breed. Many more, however, 
keep on to Labrador, where Audubon found flocks, 
which covered the water to the extent of half an 
acre. Those which proceed to that distance, leave 
the states in April, and make their way along the 
shore, never going far from the sea. They breed in 
holes, which they make by burrowing three or four 
feet in the ground, and feed their young with small 
