516 THE PUFFIN. 



which — Noddy Island — is named for it, and a few breed 

 there still, as also on the Machias Ledge near Grand Menan; 

 but mostly they have been driven northward, where they 

 breed in great numbers. The nest is a hole in the bank, 

 like that of the Kingfisher, only not so deep, and contains one 

 egg, about 2.50 XI. 75, somewhat pointed, white or whitish, 

 obscurely spotted. In some places the bird lays in deep 

 holes and crevices of steep, rocky ledges. It belongs to the 

 same family with the Auks, and is found also in the Old 

 World. Its food is small crustaceans principally. 



The Tufted Puffin {F. cirrata), an extremely northern 

 species, and belonging to the Pacific rather than to the 

 Atlantic, and similar to the last in general form, is blackish, 

 with a white face, and a long flowing bunch of loose yellow 

 feathers on each side of the head. The bill and feet are 

 red, and it is several inches longer than the former. The 

 young do not have the yellow crest. 



The Razor-Billed Auk ( Utamania tarda) also breeds spar- 

 ingly on the outlying rocky islands of Nova Scotia, as on 

 the Devil's Limb and Gannet Rock. About 18 inches long, 

 with pointed-tail and flatly-compressed bill, this bird is 

 brownish-black above and white beneath, the black bill hav- 

 ing a white curved line, and the back part of the wing being 

 edged with white. The feet are black, and the inside of the 

 mouth is bright yellow. The eggs, which are abundant in some 

 parts of Labrador, and are deposited singly "on the bare 

 rock of sea-girt cliffs," are some 3.00X2.00, oval, white, or 

 whitish, variously and heavily marked with dark-brown. 

 This bird is common on the New England Coast in winter. 

 Its food is small crustaceans and algae. 



The Great Auk {Alca impennis), once abundar^t on our 

 northern coasts, and also on the northern coast of Europe, 

 is now supposed to be extinct. Its presence was attested 



