OF BIRDS. 
22 7 
s 
darting down upon the smaller fishes, which they seize 
with incredible rapidity. 
The lesser tern weighs only two ounces five grains. 
The bill is yellow, and from the eyes to the bill is a black 
line : in other respects it almost exactly resembles the 
preceding. 
The black tern is of a middle size between the two 
preceding species. It weighs two ounces and a half. 
It receives its name from being all black as far as the 
vent except a white spot under the throat. This bird is 
called in some parts the ear swallow. It is very noisy* 
Great Auk. ( Alca . PI. 38.) This bird is the 
size of a goose; its bill is black, about four inches and a 
quarter in length, and covered at the base with short 
velvet like feathers. The upper parts of the plumage 
are black, and the lower parts white, with a spot of white 
between the bill and the eyes, and an oblong stripe of the 
same on the wings, which are too short for flight. It is a 
very bad walker, but swims and dives well. It is, how* 
ever observed by seamen, that it is never seen out of 
soundings, so that its appearance serves as an infallible 
direction to land. It feeds on the lump-fish, and others 
of the same size; and it is frequently seen on the coasts 
of Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland, &c. It lays its 
eggs close to the seamark. 
There is another bird of this description, called the 
penguin, which seems to hold the same place in the sou- 
thern parts of the world, that the auks do in the nor- 
thern: being only found in the temperate and frigid zones 
of the southern hemisphere. It resembles the former in 
almost all its habits: walking erect, and being very stu- 
pid : it also resembles it in colour, mode of feeding, and 
of making its nest. These birds hatch their young in an 
erect position; and cackle like geese, but in a hoarser 
tone. 
Guillemot. ( Uria . PL 38.) This bird is about the 
size of a common duck, the upper parts of the body are 
of a dark brown colour, inclining to a black, except the 
tips of some of the wing feathers, which are white; all 
