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b>>t lis lluoat is white. Tliefe birds, in company wiili the 

 giiilltmol, appt:ir in our fcas in tlit bcginrir.jr of Fcbn a' y ; 

 hut do not fettle in their brteding-phKes till they begin to 

 lay, about the beginrting of May. When they take puf- 

 feiiion of the ledges of the higheft rocks that hang over the 

 fea, they lit clofe together and in rows one above another, 

 and form a very groteu|ue appearance. 1'hcy lay only one 

 egg at a time, which is of a large fv/.a, in proportion to tliat 

 of the bird, being three inches long, either white or of a 

 pale fea-grcen, irregularly ipotted with black ; it this egg 

 be deftroyed, both the auk and the guillemot will lay an- 

 other, and if this be taken, a third; as they make no nell, they 

 depofit the egg on the bare rock, poifmg it in fuch a manner 

 as no human art can effecil, and fixing it by means of the 

 vifcous moiftin-e that bedews its iurface on its exclufion ; 

 and though fuch multitudes of eggs are contiguous to each 

 other, each bird dlllinguiflies its own. Thefe eggs ferve 

 as food to the inhabitants of the coafts which the birds fre- 

 quent, and are procured with great hazard by perfojis let 

 down with ropes, held by their companions, and who for 

 want of liable footing, are precipitated down the rocks and 

 perifli together. Thefe birds are found in the northern 

 ^arts of America, Europe, and Afia. They come to breed 

 on the Ferroe illands, along the weft of England, and on 

 the ifle of Wight, where they add to the multitude of fea- 

 fowl that inhabit the great rocks, called the Needles. Their 

 winter retidence is not pofitively afcertained. As they cannot 

 remain on the fta in that fealon, and never appear on fliore, 

 nor retire to foutliern climates, Edwards fuppoles that they 

 pafs the winter iu the caverns of rocks, which open under 

 water, but rife internally as much above the level of the 

 flood as to admit a rccefs, and here, as he apprehends, they 

 remain torpid, and live upon their abundant fat. The pace of 

 this bird is heavy and iluggifh ; and its ordinary potture is 

 that of fvvimming or floating on the water, or lying itretched 

 on the rocks or on the ice. 



z. A. f>ic:!, A. minor of BriiT. mergus of Bellon. Aldrov. 

 Johnft. Will, and Ray, alca unifulcata of Brunii. and Muller, 

 and black-billed auk of Pennant and Latham, has its bill 

 fraooth and comprefTtd, the whole under fide of the body, 

 and the tips of the pollerior wing-quills, wliite, and its legs 

 red. This fpecies weighs l8 ounces, its length is 15J 

 inches and breadth 2J inches; the bill is of the fame form 

 with that of the preceding, but is entirely black. Tlie 

 cheeks, chin and throat, are white ; in all other rel'pefts it 

 agrees with the former fpecies. It has been found on our 

 coalls in winter, when the other fort has left them. It is 

 very common in Greenland, where it breeds on the cliffs, 

 feeds on marine infefts and grows very fat. In winter thefe 

 birds pafs the day in the liays, and in the evening retire to 

 the fea. The Greenlandcrs eat their flcfli half putrid, fuck 

 their raw fat, and clothe thcnifelves with their fl<ins. When 

 this bird is dreflfed with its entrails, it is cfteemed by thofe 

 people a great delicacy. Some have doubted whether thefe 

 birds migrate fo far fouthward as the Mediterranean, whilft 

 others affirm that they have been found on the coaft of 

 Candia ; and Mr. Latham fays, that they are common in the 

 bay of Gibraltar, where they have been particularly noticed 

 on account of the adroitnefs and ailivity with which tliey 

 plunge into tlie water, and move through it in purfuit of their 

 prey. 



The A. lah'ica of Brunnick, with black tail and wings, is 

 a variety of this fpecies. 



3. A. irnpeimis, A. major of BrliTon, mergus americanus 

 of Clufius, choenalopex of Moehring, golrfngtl of Clufius, 

 Kieremb. and Jonft. Penguin of Worm. Will. P..ay, Martin, 

 Edvvards, &c. gare of Sibb. grand pingouin cf Bu.Ton, 



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and grc.ti auk of Pennant and I>atham, has its bill 00m- 

 preflid and furrowed on both luks, and has an oval fpot on 

 each tide before the eyes. Its length to the end of its toes 

 is three Icel ; the bill to the corner of the mouth is 4} 

 inches ; part of the upper mandible is covered with (hort, 

 black, velvety feathers ; the head, neck, back, tail and 

 wings are of a glofTy black, the tips of the icIFcr quill- 

 feathcrs white, the wj^jle under fide of the body white, and 

 the legs black. The wings are fo fmall as to be ufekfs for 

 flight, their length, from tlie tip of the longeil quill-feat hers 

 to the firll joint, being only 44 inches ; and thefe birds are 

 therefore obierved by feameii never to wander beyond 

 foundings, and by the fight of them they are able to afcer- 

 tain the nearncfs of the land. They can fcarccly even walk, 

 and of courfe continue on the water, except in the time of 

 breeding. According to Mr. Martin, they breed on the i(lc 

 of St. Kilda, appearing tliere in the beginning of May and 

 retiring in the middle of June. They lay one egg, fix inches 

 long, of a white colour ; and if the egg be taken away, no 

 other is laid in the fame feafon. Some eggs are irregularly 

 marked with purplifh lines crofiing each other, and others 

 are blotched black and ferruginous about the thicker end. 

 Mr. Macaulay, in his hillory of St. Kilda, p. 156, obl'erves, 

 that this bird does not vilit that ifiand annually, but fome- 

 times keeps away for fevend years together ; and that it lays 

 its eggs clofe to the fea-mark, as it is incapable, by the 

 fliortneis of its wings, of mounting higher. Birds of this 

 fpecies are faid not to be numerous ; they feldom appear on 

 the coafts of Noi-way. They are met with near Newfound- 

 land and Iceland. They do not refort annually to the Eerroc 

 iflands, and they rarely defcend more to the fouth in the 

 European feas. They feed on the cyclopterus, and fucli 

 fllli, and on the rofe-root and other plants. The fl<in3 

 are ufed by the Efquimailx for garments. The akpa of the 

 Greenlandcrs, which is about the fize of a duck, with the 

 back black and the belly white, and which can neither run 

 nor fly, is fuppofed by M. BufFon to be this bird. Thefe 

 birds live in flocks at fea, and never approach the land except 

 in very fevere cold ; and in this cafe they are fo numerous 

 that they cover the water like a thick dark fog. The Green- 

 landers drive them on the coaft and catch them with the 

 hand, as they can neither run nor fly. At the mouth of the 

 Ball river they afford fubfiftence to the inhabitants in the 

 months of February and March, and their down fcrves to 

 line winter garments. 



4. A. arilkn, anas arftica of Cluf. Ray, Worm. Will. 

 Olear. Alb. and Sibb. lunda of Nieremb. and lonft. frater- 

 cula of Briflon, bowger of Martin, puffinus anglicus of 

 Gefner, macareux of BnflFon, and puffin of Peunant and 

 Latham ; has its bill comprefled, channelled on cjieh fide 

 with four furrows, the orbits and temples white, and its 

 upper eye-lid pointed. For a further account of this fpe- 

 cies, fee Puffin. 



5. A. aha, uria minor of Briflon, mergulus nielanoleucus, 

 with a fliort fliarp bill of Ray, fmall black and white diver 

 of Will, and Edwards, Greenland dove or fea-turtle of Albiii, 

 rotges of Martin's Spitzb. and little auk of Pennant and 

 Latham, has a fmooth conical bill, the whole under part of 

 the abdomen and the tips of the pofterior wing-quills white, 

 and the legs black. The bill is fhort, ftrong and black ; the 

 cheeks, throat, and under fide of the body white, the crown 

 of the head, hind part of the neck, back, tail, and wings 

 black, the inner coverts of the wings grey, the fcapiilar 

 feathers black and white ; the legs and tect covered with dirty 

 grecnifli white fcales; the webs black. The fize of the bird, 

 from which this defcription was taken by Pennant, was not 

 fuperior to that of a blackbird. Mr, Edwards dcfcribca 



another 



