The Great Auk. 
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THE GKEAT AUK, (Aim impennis,) 
Which is sometimes called the Northern Penguin, is a 
large bird, furnished with very small wings, which, 
although formed of regular feathers, like those of other 
birds, are far too weak to raise their owner into the air. 
They are, however, of use in another way. When the 
Auk dives, which it frequently does, they serve as fins, 
and, with its powerful webbed feet, enable it to swim un- 
derneath the water with even greater rapidity than on 
the surface. This bird was formerly seen occasionally 
on the northern coasts of Britain, and became more 
plentiful towards the Arctic seas ; but no specimens 
have now been met with for many years, and there 
is reason to believe that the bird is quite extinct on 
our coasts. In#the water the Great Auk, like the Diver, 
is wonderfully active, swimming on the surface or 
beneath the waves with equal ease. Mr. Bullock, when 
in the Orkneys, pursued a male bird for several honors 
in a six-oared boat without being able to kill him. 
The Great Auk is generally about three feet long, and 
changes its plumage in summer. The breeding-season 
is in June and July, when the female lays one large 
egg, of a yellowish colour, marked with black spots. 
