238 
ALCIDJ5. 
THE GREAT AUK. 
Alca impennis, Linn. 
Is of extremely rare occurrence. 
One individual was noticed by me in the f Proceedings of the 
Zoological Society ' in 1835 (p. 79), as taken on the coast. It 
was preserved in the collection of Dr. Burkitt, of Waterford, who 
has contributed the following particulars. He received the bird 
on the 7th of September, 1834, from Mr. Robert Davis, jun., of 
Clonmel, who stated that it was taken in the preceding month of 
May (by the fisherman of whom he purchased it), at a short dis- 
tance from the shore, at the mouth of Waterford Harbour, off 
Ballymacaw. According to the captor, it was apparently almost 
starved. When in his yawl off the coast, he saw the auk swim- 
ming about near him, and held out some sprats, for which it came 
close to the boat. It was taken with little difficulty. He kept 
it for some days, feeding it chiefly with potatoes mashed in 
milk, which were partaken of greedily. After having the bird 
for ten days, he sold it to Mr. Davis, by whom it was sent to 
Mr. Gough, of Horetown, county Wexford, where it lived for 
about four months. Eor a considerable time, perhaps three weeks, 
it was not known to eat of anything at its new destination, but 
potatoes and milk were then forced down its throat, from which 
time it ate voraciously, until a day or two before its death. This 
auk stood very erect, and frequently stroked its head with its 
foot, especially when any favourite food was presented. When 
in Mr. Gough's possession, it was chiefly fed on fish, of which 
fresh-water species (trout, &c.) were preferred to sea-fish: they 
were swallowed entire. It was rather fierce. 
The following description was, at my request, kindly supplied by Dr. Burkitt at 
the same time. “ This bird — a young female — is not in good plumage ; the head, 
hack, wings, legs, and feet, are sooty black ; between the bill and eye on each side of 
the head there is a large patch of white, mottled with blackish feathers ; the neck is 
white, slightly mottled with black ; the front of the body white ; the lesser quills 
tipped with white. 
