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Show 406 AVES. wh 1't e beneath ' with a white line on the wing• as in the Gui\le. mot. Its bill is black, and feet red. Inhab1ts all the northern coasts, and builds under ground. It is sometimes seen on the French coast in winter. ALcA, Lin. The Auks are known by the very much compressed, vertically raised bill which has a trenchant back, and is usually grooved transversely; and by the feet which are completely pal.mat~d, an.d have no thumb like those of the Guillemot. All these b1rds mhabtt t11e northern seas. We may divide the genus into two subgenera. FRATEROULA, Briss.-MonMoN, Illig. Or the Puffins, whose bill, shorter than the head, is as high and higher at base than it is long, which gives it a very extraordinary form· a folded skin usually covers its base. 1,he nostrils placed near the :dge are mere slits. Their small wings can just sustain them for a moment; they live upon the ocean and breed on the rocks .. The most common species, .IJ.lca arctica, L. and labradona, Gm.; Mormon fratercula, Tern. Enl. 275; Brit. Zool., pl.~; Edw. 358, 1; Frisch, 192; Naum. 65, f. 101, is the size ofaP1· geon, and has a black calotte and mantle; white beneath. ~~ sometimes breeds among the cliffs on the English coast, and IS very common on those of France during the winter.( I) M. Temminck distinguishes, under the name of Stariques (PHA· I.ERis) those species which have a less elevated bill.(2) ALoA, Cuv.(3) The true Auks have a more elongated bill, resembling in form the blade of a knife; it is covered with feathers as far as the nos· trils. Their wings are decidedly too small to support them, and therefore they never attempt to fly. · h .ll.lca torda and pica, Gm.; Pingouin commun, Enl. l004, tIe adult 1003, in summer plumage, Edw. 358, 2, Briss. VI, VI~' 2, Brit. Zool. pl. H, 1. (The Common Auk.) Black above, white (1) Add A. cirrltata, Pall. Spic., V, pl. 1; Vieill. Gal. 299. dP~I., (2) Alca cristatella, Vieill. Gal. 297, or Starique cristatelle, T. ?o1. 200, ~ S i~, Spic. Zool., V, pl. 1, of which .a. pygmrea is the young;-.8. ps-tttacula, P · p V, pl. 2, of which .a. tetracula, Jb. pl. 4, is the young. . h north (3) Alca, Aik, Auk, the name of these birds in the Feroe Islands, and m theb the of Scotland. That of Penguin, first given to the Apteno~ytes of the so~t Jrwll Dutch, indicates the oily nature of their fat. See CltiSlUS, Exot., 10 · Buffon who transferred this name exclusively to the northern Auks. PALMIPEDES. 407 beneath; a white line on the wing and one or two on the b"II The throat of the male is black, and there is a white line rea~h: ing from the eye to the bill. Its size is that of a duck. /llca impennia, L.; Le Grand Pingouin, Buff. IX, :xxix; Enl. 367. (T. h.e Great Auk.) Nearly as large as a Goose , the colo urs very similar to those of the preceding species; but the bill is entirely black and marked with eight or ten grooves, and there is a white oval spot between the bill and the eye: its wings are shorter in . prop. ortion than those of any other species of thi s genus. It 1s sa1d to lay but one large egg, spotted with purple. APTENODYTEs, Forst. The Penguins are even less capable of flying than the Auks. Their little wings are covered with mere vestiges of feathers, which at the first glance resemble scales; their feet, placed farther behind than those of any other bird, only support them by bearing on the tarsus which is widened like the sole of the foot of a quadruped and i~ which are found three bones soldered together at their extr~mities. They have a small thumb directed inwards, and their three anterior toes are united by an entire membrane. They are only found in the Antarctic Seas, never going on shore except to breed. They can. only reach their nests by drawing themselves along on their belhes. The difference in their bill authorizes their division into three subgenera. APTENODYTEs, Cuv. A long, slender, and pointed bill; the upper mandible a little arcuated near the end; covered with feathers to one-third of its length where the nostril is placed, from which a groove extends to the point. .!lpt. patagonica, Gm.; Le Grand Manchot, Eni. 975. (The Great Penguin.) Is the size of a Goose, slate-coloured above, white beneath; a black mask surrounded with a lemon-coloured cravatte. Found in large troops near the straits of Magellan, and as far as New Guinea. The flesh, though black, is eatable. CATARRHAOTEs, Briss. The Gorfus(I) have the bill stout, but little compressed, pointed, rounded on the back, and its point somewhat arcuated; the groove ~~ Gorju, a corruption of goir fugel, the name of the Great Auk in the Feroe 8 '. See Clusius, Exot., 367. Catarrhactes is the Greek name of a very difbll'd, which could fly well, and precipitated itself from a ·height on its prey. most probably a species of Gull. |