AUKS 



(ii) Plautus impennis 



(Linn.) (Lat., flat-footed; wingless). 



GREAT AUK; GAREFOWL. A 

 very large, stout-bodied, short-winged 

 flightless auk. Plumage entirely 

 black and while. Bill thin and deep, 

 shaped like that of the Razor-bill, 

 but crossed with several lines of white. 

 L., 30.00; W., 6.00; Tar., 1.70; B., 

 3.15. Nest — Eggs laid singly on low, 

 rocky islands or shores; rather pyri- 

 form, grayish-white, spotted and 

 lined with brownish-black, 5.00 x 

 3.00. About 70 of these eggs are in 

 various museums, the Thayer Mu- 

 seum, Lancaster, Mass., probably 

 having the finest series. 



Range — Formerly the coast from 

 Virginia to Labrador; now extinct. 



are blown farther south by severe storms or even may be 

 carried inland for considerable distances. In these latter 

 instances they are usually found dead or exhausted on the 

 ground, or frozen in the ice ponds; they are practically help- 

 less, and cannot take flight except from water or from an 

 elevation from which to hurl themselves. 



The GREAT AUK is one of several birds that have become 

 extinct during the present generation. Its extinction was 

 caused by man, a fact easy of accomplishment because of the 

 communistic habits of the birds and their helplessness when 

 on land. They enjoyed the unenviable distinction of being 

 the only flightless birds in the northern hemisphere. Al- 

 though the largest of the auks, their wings were as small as 

 those of the smallest — admirably adapted to assist these 

 remarkable swimmers through the water, but useless in the 

 air. 



Although one of the largest and most southern breeding 

 grounds was Funk Island, off the coast of Newfoundland, 



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