216 BULLETIN 107, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 
Arctic explorer that loves those inhospitable shores. It penetrates as 
far north as 82° and has been found breeding up to the seventy- 
eighth parallel of latitude, probably farther north than any a 
species regularly breeds. 
Spring —Mr. William Eagle Clarke (1898), writing of the migra- 
tion of this species on Franz Josef Land, says: 
It arrived at Frederick Jackson Island in 1896 on the 25th of February, ag 
related by Doctor Nansen. On the 10th of March Doctor Nansen mentions that 
“millions ” were seen flying up the sound at 6 a. m., and “ when we went out 
at 2 in the afternoon there was an unceasing passage of flock after flock out tu 
sea, and this continued until late in the afternoon.” On the 17th of March they 
were in plenty at the Gully Rocks, and, as far as could be seen they were all 
in full summer plumage. They continually occupied and deserted their breed- 
ing-cliffs during April, May, and early June. After the 10th of June the little 
auks were seen on the rocks every day during our stay. They bred in the 
cliffs, at both east and west ends, at Cape Flora in great numbers, though most 
plentifully in the Gully Rocks. 
The approach of the Arctic spring and the arrival of the birds is 
well portrayed by Dr. I. I. Hayes (1867) as follows: 
The snow had mainly disappeared from the valley, and, although no flowers 
had yet appeared, the early vegetation was covering the banks with green, and 
the feeble growths opened their little leaves almost under the very snow, and 
stood alive and fresh in the frozen turf, looking as glad of the spring as their 
more ambitious cousins of the warm south. Gushing rivulets and fantastic 
waterfalls mingled their pleasant music with the ceaseless hum of birds, myriads 
of which sat upon the rocks of the hillside, or were perched upon the cliffs, or 
sailed through the air in swarms so thick that they seemed like a cloud passing 
before the sun. These birds were the hitherto mentioned little auk, and are a 
waterfowl not larger than a quail. The swift flutter of their wings and their 
constant cry filled the air with a roar like that of a storm advancing among 
the forest trees. The valley was glowing with the sunlight of the early morning, 
which streamed in over the glacier, and robed hill, mountain, and plain’ in 
brightness. 
Nearly all Arctic explorers have referred to the astonishing abun- 
dance of the little “rotche,” as this species is called, on its breeding 
grounds. The following two quotations by Morris (1903) will serve 
as illustrations: 3 
Captain Beechey says: 
They are so numerous that we have often seen an uninterrupted line of them 
extending full halfway over the bay, or to a distance of more than 8 miles. 
This column, on the average, might have been about 6 yards broad and.as many 
deep. There must have been nearly four millions of birds on the wing at one 
time. 
Meyer writes: 
The incredible numbers of this species that have been seen by voyagers, on 
the surface of the northern seas, are very remarkable; it is said that they cover 
the surface of the water, and the floating masses of ice as far as the eye can 
discern, and when they take flight they actually darken the sky. 
