GETTING FOOD FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA 271 



existing species are black above and white below. The beaks 

 show but little tendency to the sportive flattening so char- 

 acteristic of the puffins. 



These birds are very strong divers, and get a great portion 

 of their food from the bottom of the sea. The two species 

 found all along our Pacific coast, on the Farallone Islands and 

 Santa Catalina, are the Rhinoceros Auklef (14 inches long), 

 and the Cassin Auhlet, the former so called because of an 

 erect horny shield at the base of its beak. The Least Auklef 

 is only 6J^ inches long — about the bulk of a small, thinly 

 feathered screech owl. 



The Razor-Billed Auk,^ of the North Atlantic Ocean, 

 sometimes wanders in summer to the coast of Maine, and in 

 winter even migrates as far south as New Jersey. (Robert 

 Ridgway.) It is 17 inches long, and is the largest living mem- 

 ber of the group of auks. As might be expected, it is a dis- 

 tinguished resident of the Bird Rocks. 



The Great Auk is. now a bird of history and museums 

 only. It met its fate on Funk Island, a treeless dot in the 

 sea, about thirty miles northwest of Newfoundland, which was 

 the first land met with as the Auks swam southward on their 

 annual migrations. The wings of this bird were so little 

 developed that it was wholly unable to fly, and while on land 

 it was any one's prey. 



The thousands of Great Auks that visited Funk Island 

 naturally attracted men who wished to turn them to account. 

 Whalemen were landed, and left there to kill Auks for their 

 feathers and oil. The birds were either driven into pens 



' Cer-o-rhin'ca mo-no-cer-a'ta. ^ Sim-o-rhyn'ehm pu-sil'lus. ' Al'ca tor'da. 



