Family AlciD/E. 127 



FAMILY ALCID^. 



THE Auks (AhidceJ are restricted to the northern hemisphere, and some of 

 them have an arctic range during the breeding season. The greater number 

 of the species are found on the shores of the Pacific ocean, and the North Pacific 

 is the chief home of the family. All the species are migratory to some extent, 

 more or less. All are marine in their habits. In the breeding season they are 

 eminently gregarious ; indeed, the vast numbers of these birds which gather together 

 at that season, at some of their nesting cliffs, afford one of the most wonderful 

 and interesting sights which the student of field ornithology can meet with. 



In the Auks the feet are three-toed and completely palmate or webbed. 

 The feet of these birds are placed very far back, and the position of the birds, 

 when standing, is nearly upright. Some of the species rest, when in this position, 

 upon the whole foot and tarsus, and walk badly; others rest upon the foot only, 

 and walk more readily. The wings in all the species are small (and in one species 

 were so small as to be useless for flight), but (with the above exception) the birds 

 fly well and fast, with rapidly beaten wings. The tail is short. The food of the 

 Auks consists of fish and small marine animals. In the case of most of the species 

 a single egg is deposited, but in some two are laid. The young are hatched 

 covered with down, and can swim at a very early age. The eggs, which are 

 deposited on rocky ledges, in crevices of, or under rocks, and in burrows, have the 

 ground colour whitish or greenish, and are usually conspicuously marked with 

 spots or streaks. 



The AlcidcB have been divided into two subfamilies, the Puffins and the Auks 

 (including the Guillemots). In the former the nostrils are naked, while in the 

 latter they are more or less feathered. Nine species of Puffins have been enumerated 

 (and one subspecies), which, with one exception, are confined to the North Pacific 

 and Polar seas. The seasonal changes of plumage in these birds are slight, but 

 "all these birds have the bill appendaged with deciduous elements, which is not 

 the case with the Alcince proper" (Coues). Twelve or fourteen species and sub- 

 species of Auks, Guillemots and Murrelets are known, which are found in the 

 North Pacific and the Atlantic, and in the Polar seas. The plumage of these birds 

 undergoes considerable seasonal changes, and their bills which, although not so 

 remarkably developed as in the Puffins, form, in some cases, a noticeable feature, 

 do not attain their full size in the bird's first year. As in the Puffins, the sexes 

 are alike in plumage. 



