616 
THE COMMON PUFFIN. 
No living specimens have been obtained during the last forty years. In 1869 the last sale 
of one, stuffed, was made in London, when one was purchased for the American Museum 
of Natural History by Robert L. Stuart. The price paid was $625. The length of the Great 
Auk is about three feet. Its wings are only four inches long. It inhabited the highest 
latitudes, and but few years since was abundant in the Arctic regions. The shell-heaps along 
the coast as far south as Massachusetts contain numerous examples of the bones of this bird. 
Nuttall, in 1834, records that this bird was then breeding in numbers in Iceland and Greenland. 
A competent cause for their early extinction is seen in the fact that they lay but one egg in a 
season, a circumstance that seems most remarkable. It is supposed that the last of these birds 
seen alive were off the Funks, on the shores of Newfoundland, in 1844. In 1870 a specimen 
was found dead in Labrador ; though in poor condition, it was sold for $200. There are five 
specimens known to our American collections. 
Another species of the same genus, the Razor-Bill (Alca tor do), is tolerably common 
in the Arctic seas, and is occasionally found in Northern Europe. The eggs of this species are 
singularly variable. Mr. Champley informs me that he possesses five hundred distinct speci- 
mens. 
This is one of the prettiest species ; its bill is very peculiar, but is handsomely colored, 
[t is abundant along the rocky shores of the Atlantic. 
The Sea Dove (Alle nigricans). This little bird is very familiar to those who live near 
the sea-shore of the Eastern States. It is a northern bird, but during the heavy storms of 
winter it is sometimes blown ashore, and is then picked up with ease, as it is quite exhausted. 
Its length is but eight inches. 
The Least Auk (Oiceronia pusilla) is yet smaller than the Sea Dove, measuring less than 
seven inches in length. It is exclusively a North Pacific bird. Cassia’ s Auk is another of the 
Northwestern species— a little larger. The Parrot Auk, Crested Auk, Whiskered Auk are 
also native to the northwest coast of America. They are all quite small. The Least Auk 
changes its plumage so considerably in point of color, that two species have been created out 
of the summer and winter plumage. The pretty, richly-colored projections on the upper 
mandibles are shed in winter, and renewed on the coming of the breeding-season. 
The odd little Puffin is remarkable for the singular shape, enormous size, and light colors 
of its beak, which really looks as if it had been originally made for some much larger bird. 
Owing to the dimensions of the beak it is often called the Sea Parrot, or the Coulterner. 
The Puffin can fly rapidly and walk tolerably, but it dives and swims supremely well, 
chasing fish in the water, and often bringing out a whole row of sprats at a time, ranged along 
the side of its bill, all the heads being within the mouth and all the tails dangling outside. It 
breeds upon the rocks and in the rabbit-warrens near the sea, finding the ready-made burrows 
of the rabbit very convenient for the reception of its eggs, and fighting with the owner for pos- 
session of the burrow. Where rabbits do not exist, the Puffin digs its own burrow, and works 
hard at its labor. The egg is generally placed several feet within the holes, and the parents 
defend it vigorously. Even the raven makes little of an attack, for the Puffin gripes his foe as 
he best can, and tries to tumble into the sea, where the raven is soon drowned, and the little 
champion returns home in triumph. The egg is white, but soon becomes stained by the earth. 
The food of this bird consists of fish, crustaceans, and insects. 
The top of the head, the back, and a ring round the neck are black, and the cheeks and 
under surfaces are white. The beak is curiously striped with orange upon bluish-gray, and 
the legs and toes are orange. The 'length of this bird is about one foot. 
The Common Puffin ( Fratericula arctica) is a singular looking bird, its bill being very 
thin and compressed, while it is very deep. It is abundant along the north Atlantic coast. A 
variety glacialis is larger. The Horn Puffin, Tufted, and Horn-billed Puffin are confined to 
the Pacific coast. 
