. A history of British birds. By the Rev. Morris .. . obtained at sea, over a fishing bank,about a hundred leagues from Newfoundland; it is said tohave been formerly of more frequent occurrence in thoseparts, and indeed from Labrador to Boston. In ancienttimes the present was a Greenland species, but it is longsince one was seen there. The instances of the occurrence of the Great Auk in thiscountry have been but very few. Sir William Hooker hasmentioned one specimen obtained near Southwold, in thecounty of Suffolk; Mr. Bullock another taken on a pondon the estate of Sir WiUiam Clayton, Ba
. A history of British birds. By the Rev. Morris .. . obtained at sea, over a fishing bank,about a hundred leagues from Newfoundland; it is said tohave been formerly of more frequent occurrence in thoseparts, and indeed from Labrador to Boston. In ancienttimes the present was a Greenland species, but it is longsince one was seen there. The instances of the occurrence of the Great Auk in thiscountry have been but very few. Sir William Hooker hasmentioned one specimen obtained near Southwold, in thecounty of Suffolk; Mr. Bullock another taken on a pondon the estate of Sir WiUiam Clayton, Bart., near Marlow,Buckinghamshire; and Dr. Edward Moore has recorded onefound dead on Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, off thenorth coast of Devon, in the year 1829. In the Hebrides, one was taken at St. Kilda in the winterof 1822; another in 1829: the latter escaped from John Macgillivray writes, speaking of the year 1840,The Great Auk was declared by several of the inhabitants tobe of not unfiequent occurrence about St. Kilda, where,. GREAT AUK. GEEAT AUK. 173 however, it has not been known to breed for many yearsback; three or four specimens only have been procuredduring the memory of the oldest inhabitant. Dr. Baikie and Mr. Robert Heddle write, This bird hasnot visited Orkney for many years. One was seen off FairIsle, in June, 1798; a pair bred in Papa Westray for severalyears, where they were named the king and queen of theAuks. Shortly after Mr. Bullocks visit to Orkney, in 1813,one of these birds was shot and sent to him, and since thattime the Great Auk has apparently forsaken our islands. In Ireland, this very fine bird has occurred, but veryrarely. One was taken off the coast of the county ofWaterford in the year 1834. This species has been kept in confinement for some time. The short wings of these Auks, though inadequate tosupport them in the air, render them material assistance intheir progress beneath the surface of the water, and therethey pro
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