THE GREAT AUK 



that, contrary to a common misapprehension, the Great Auk, with perhaps one 

 doubtful exception, never inhabited the seas within the Arctic Circle, but was found 

 south of that line in the North Atlantic. Though occurring in the Orkneys and 

 St. Kilda, it appears chiefly to have frequented Iceland, the Faeroes, South-eastern 

 Greenland, Newfoundland — where it was abundant — and the Labrador coast, and 

 its destruction was ruthlessly carried out, partly in the first instance by fishermen 

 for food and bait, and as the bird became scarcer its extermination was completed 

 to furnish specimens and eggs for collectors and museums. Another circumstance 

 which hastened the end appears to have been the destruction of one of its principal 

 breeding stations off the coast of Iceland by a volcanic eruption. Unfortunately for 

 the bird, it fell an easy prey to its enemies when it arrived at the low-lying rocks 

 which served as nesting places, as, owing to its very diminutive wings, it was quite 

 unable to fly. 



An example taken in the Orkneys about 1813 is now in the British Museum, 

 and two are said to have been secured at St. Kilda about 1821 and 1840, whilst a 

 pair, the last of their race, were obtained as late as 1844 on some skerries off the 

 coast of Iceland. 



The single egg was apparently laid on the rocks, and the colour of those left to 

 us is usually buffish-white, blotched with dark brown and grey. 



According to Howard Saunders' Manual of British Birds (2nd ed.), about 

 seventy-two eggs and seventy-nine specimens of the bird appear to exist. 



Its food and habits in general seem to have resembled those of the Razorbill. 



THE COMMON GUILLEMOT. 



Uria troile (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 76. 



This is a common bird on and off the shores of Britain throughout the greater 

 part of the year, coming like the Razorbill, but in greater multitudes, to breed on 

 the cliffs and precipices of our sea-coast and islands. 



The Guillemot has a wide range on both sides of the Atlantic, whilst it also 

 inhabits the Pacific Ocean, and migrates southward in winter. 



The female lays her single egg on the crowded and narrow ledges of high 

 precipitous cliffs, sometimes in such precarious situations that a sudden movement 

 of the bird or unexpected gust of wind sends it into space, notwithstanding its 

 pear-like shape, which no doubt helps to keep the eggs from straying. 



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