GREAT AUK— DOVEKIE , 123 



shoulders look ridiculously insignificant in comparison 

 with their exaggerated beaks, which are much flat- 

 tened sidewise and immensely spread out from top to 

 bottom. . . , This great beak is largely an ap- 

 pendage of the breeding season and is cast, like the 

 antlers of a deer, at the end of that period." It is 

 brilliantly coloured in red, yellow and green. 



In the Tufted Puffin, during the breeding season, 

 two bunches of yellow feathers grow from the sides of 

 the head just behind the eye, extending for some dis- 

 tance behind the neck. It is brownish-black above and 

 greyish-brown below, while the Horned Puffin, which 

 takes its name from a small excrescence on the eyelid, 

 is almost black above and white below, and the feet are 

 brilliant red. 



The Great Auk, a larger bird than any of the pre- 

 ceding species, standing more than two feet in height, 

 has become extinct since the middle of the last century. 

 Its wings were rudimentary, and being unable to fly it 

 was quickly killed off by early travellers to the North 

 for its feathers, flesh and oil, and a few skins, bones 

 and eggs that have been preserved in museums and 

 by collectors are all that remain of this interesting 

 bird. In colouring, the Great Auk was all black above 

 and pure white below, with a large white spot in front 

 of the eyes. 



The Wings of the Little Auk, or Dovekie for- 

 tunately unlike those of its great relative, are 

 well developed and used in flight. This bird is com- 

 mon along the rocky shores of the British Islands and 

 many other favourable localities in the north Atlantic. 

 See Plate 40, Fig. 236. 



