NATATORES. ALCADJE.
T H E L IT T L E AUK,\>
or C ommon R o t c h e .
A lea alle, Little Auk, P enn. Brit. Zool.vol. ii. p. 158.
M t) 1 , r ,, Mont. Ornith. Diet
,, ,, »> 35 BEWfTCKj Brit. Birds, vol.ii. p. 185.
Mergulus melanoleucos, Common Rotch, F l e m . Brit. An. p. 135.
• , , ■ ,, Selby, Brit. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 430i
»> • - ■ ,, jj ) - »» I, J enyns, Britr, y e r t. p. 259,.
,, ,, Little Auk, G ould, Birds of Europe, pt. iv.
tJria alle, Guillemot nain, TiMM-Man. d’Ornith. vol. ii. p. 928.
Mebgulus. Generic Characters. — Bill shorter than the head, thick,
broader than high at the base; cnlmen arched 5 upper mandible indistinctly
grooved; under one with the symphisis very short and oblique; tips of both
mandibles notched. Commissure arched. Nostrils lateral, round, situated at
the base of the bill, and partly coyered with small feathers. Legs abdominal,
short; feet of three toes, all directed forwards, and united by a membrane.
Wings and tail short.
T he L i t t l e A uk, or Common Rotche, as it is also called,
though in its habits very similar to the Guillemots and the
true Auks, is only a winter visiter to the British Islands,
and is more frequently met with among those of Orkney and
Shetland than farther south. Somewhat intermediate in its
characters bfetween the’ Guillemots and the Auks, with the
last of which it was long associated in ornithological works,
it has been considered worthy of generic distinction, and
separated accordingly.
Truly oceanic in its habits, and unless forced by necessity,
rarely seen on land except in the breeding-season, this species
seldom makes its appearance on our coasts, but with, or soon
after, the stormy weather which usually follows each autumnal
equinox,: when they are forced by violent and long continuing
winds -to leave the rougher sea and take shelter in land-locked
bays, where they are easily shot; or, are not unfrequently
driven while on wing Over the land itself, far from their
natural marine haunts, to situations where they are generally
found either exhausted or dead.
A remarkable instance of this sort occurred in the month
of October, 1841. Dr. Edward Clarke, of Hartlepool, sent
me word that after a violent storm of wind from N .N .E .
which lasted several days, his attention was directed by pilots
and fishermen on the look, out to various flocks of small black
and white birds, then close in shore. There were several
hundreds of them, which were unknown to these seafaring
men, but which proved to be the Little Auk. Many were
obtained, five or six being killed at each shot, the birds were
so numerous. The same thing happened at the same time
at Redcar, on the Yorkshire coast, bu t after two or three
days, the wind abating, they were seen no more. About the
same time I heard from various friends of other examples
being taken in many different counties. In Lincolnshire,
Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, and Sussex. On the other