1. One adult female, formerly in the collection of the late Comte de
Riocour at Vitry-le-François, in France. I bought this specimen from
the late Alphonse Boucard, together with the bulk of the birds of the
Riocour collection. It is evidently an adult female, having the white
lines on the bill not very much developed, and showing a distinct grey
tinge on the flanks. This shade is present in both my Great Auks; the
feathers of the flanks, just under the wing, are nearly white, with a
conspicuous, very light grey border. This grey tinge is present in all
females, but appears to be absent in adult males. My bird is apparently
in worn breeding plumage. As it was not very well mounted and the feet
slightly damaged, I had it reduced to a "skin."
{156} 2. Another adult female. I purchased this from Mr. Rowland Ward,
who had it from Mr. Leopold Field in London, in 1897. According to a
letter, dated Paris le 20 Jan., 1890, written by the late A. Boucard,
who sold it in that year to Mr. Field, the history is as follows: "This
bird was captured in Iceland in 1837, did first belong to Mr. Eimbeck
of Brunswick and afterwards in the collection of Mr. Bruch from
Mayence." We must accept this information by the late A. Boucard as
correct, though it is difficult to understand that in the most
painstaking and exact list of remains of the Great Auk, by Prof.
Wilhelm Blasius of Braunschweig, or anywhere else, no mention is made
of a specimen in the possession of the late Eimbeck, or the late Bruch.
Moreover, we have no explanation where this Auk has been between the
time of Bruch's death and 1890, when Boucard sold it to Mr. Field in
London.
This specimen has been described as "immature," but this is a mistake.
Evidently it arose from some white speckles being visible on the neck
_in the photograph_ (see Symington Grieve, Trans. Edinburgh Field Nat.
and Micros. Society, explanation to plate III, on page 269). The
specimen itself, however, shows no white speckles, but only worn
feathers, out of which the illusion arose in the photograph. This error
has also been transferred to the admirable treatise on the Great Auk in
the New Edition of Naumann. The grey shade "on the body lower than the
wing," mentioned by Mr. Symington Grieve, is not a sign of immaturity,
but appears in all adult females, though it is said to be absent in
males.
Some years ago an extraordinary rumour was current in Germany about the
Great Auk in the Brehm collection; it was said to have been exchanged by
the widow of Pastor C. L. Brehm for a rare Dresden cup, and that its
present resting-place was unknown. I do not know who invented this story,
or how it arose, but suffice it to say, that the Auk which was in the Brehm
collection was sold to the late King of Italy, in 1868 or 1869. The
business was concluded by Dr. Otto Finsch, and the money was used for the
benefit of a brother of the late Dr. A. E. Brehm, as it had been the wish
of his father, Pastor Brehm. The specimen was re-stuffed by the late
taxidermist Schwerdtfeger in Bremen and forwarded to a professor in
Florence. It was kept for years at the "Veneria Reale," and recently, when
the collection at that castle was dissolved, was placed in the Museum at
Rome. It is one of the finest Great Auks known.
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