Great Auk

The Great Auk was 75 to 85 centimetres tall and weighed around 5 kilograms , making it the largest member of the alcid family. It had a black back and a white belly. The black beak was heavy and hooked with grooves etched into its surface. During the breeding season, the Great Auk had a white patch over each eye. After the breeding season, the auk lost this patch, instead developing a white band stretching between the eyes. The wings were 15 centimetres long, rendering the bird flightless. Instead, the auk was a powerful swimmer, a trait that it utilized in hunting. Its favorite prey were fish, including Atlantic Menhaden and Capelin, and crustaceans. Although agile in the water, it was clumsy on land. Its main predators were Orcas, White-tailed Eagles, Polar Bears, and humans. Great Auk pairs mated for life. They nested in extremely dense and social colonies, laying one egg on bare rock. The egg was white with variable brown streaking. Both parents incubated for about six weeks before their young h

The Great Auk is classified as Extinct (EX), there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.

Great AukPinguinus impennis Order CHARADRIIFORMES – Family ALCIDAE Issue No. 260 Authors: Montevecchi, William A., and David A. Kirk * Articles * Multimedia * References Courtesy Preview This Introductory article that you are viewing is a courtesy preview of the full life history account of this species. The remaining articles (Distribution, Habitat, Behavior, etc. More

A map showing the range of the Great Auk, with the coasts of North America and Europe forming two boundaries, a line stretching from New England to northern Portugal the southern boundary, and the northern boundary wrapping around the southern shore of Greenland. More

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the Great Auk" is live at 10000birds.com. Check it out. Add to Memories Share this! * 1 comment * Leave a comment December 4th, 2007 - Snowbirds! 12/4/07 02:21 pmAdd to Memories Share this! aukIt snowed over the weekend, but it was stealth snow that fell by night. More

as, the great auk, or northern penguin (Alca impennis), the Labrador auk, or puffin (Fratercula Arctica). They had never seen a bird like it. It was small, but it looked exactly like the picture of the great auk in Pa's big green book, The Wonders of the Animal World. More

The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca) is a bird that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only species in the genus Pinguinus, a group which included several flightless giant auks from the Atlantic, to survive until modern times. It was also known as garefowl (from the Old Norse geirfugl, meaning "spear-bird", a reference to the shape of its beak), or penguin (before the birds known by that name today were so called). More

This review is from: The Great Auk (Paperback) I read The Great Auk more than twenty years ago when I was still in high school. I'm very happy to see the book has since been reissued. It's an naturalist adventure seen entirely from the perspective of the last great auk. It should be under Christmas trees all over the country. More

Great auks bred in colonies on rocky islands off North Atlantic coasts; fossil remains have been found as far south as Florida, Spain, and Italy. Their bodies were about 30 in. (75 cm) long; the wings, used for swimming underwater, were less than 6 in. (15 cm) long. They stood erect on land and had a black back and head, a white front, and a large white spot between the eye and the black bill. Great auks were hunted to extinction for food and bait. More

The great auk ranged across the North Atlantic, south of the Arctic Circle as far as New England and the British Isles. HABITAT Rocky coastlines and adjoining seas. Restricted to a few locations where the nesting sites could be reached without flying. BEHAVIOR The great auk was the most dependent of the alcids on the ocean because, unlike its relatives, it had lost the power of flight. More

Great AuksGreat Auks = *Extinct* Auks The Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) is an extinct bird. It was the only species in the genus Pinguinus, flightless giant auks from the Atlantic, to survive until recent times, but is extinct today. It was also known as garefowl (from the Old Norse geirfugl), or penguin (see etymology below). More

* Great auk (Pinguinus impennis), hand-coloured engraving by John James Audubon and … Great auk (Pinguinus impennis), hand-coloured engraving by John James Audubon and … * Mounted specimen of great auk (Pinguinus impennis) Mounted specimen of great auk (Pinguinus impennis) * Great auk (Pinguinus impennis). Great auk (Pinguinus impennis). More

The great auk, Pinguinus impennis, was a species of flightless seabird native to the North Atlantic, becoming extinct by 1844 due to over-hunting. Contents - * 1 Entymology * 2 Description * 2.1 Distribution * 2.2 Diet * 2. More

The Great Auk, Knowledge Master of Ceremonies, has just one question for you! What book by C.S. Lewis consists of letters from a veteran devil to his novice nephew, Wormwood? and the answer is... More

For more details, The Great Auk, Knowledge Master of Ceremonies, invites you to aukxamine the KMO's rules and procedures. Results and Recognition Separate results are prepared for each contest grade level - 5th, 6th, middle school, junior high, and high school. Preliminary results are compiled by 6 a.m. Mountain Time on the day after the official contest date. A summary of the results of the KMO is posted at this website two days after each event. More

At 75 centimetres, the flightless Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis or Alca impennis) was the largest of the auks. It was hunted for food and down for mattresses from at least the 8th century. The Great Auk was once to be found in great numbers on islands off eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Ireland and Britain, but it was eventually hunted to extinction. The last pair was killed July 3 1844 on an island off Iceland. They were excellent swimmers, using their wings to swim underwater. More

A prehistoric form of great auk, Pinguinus alfrednewwni, is recorded from the Pliocene (5.2 to 1.64 million years ago) and other Pliocene flightless diving birds had wings even more penguin-like than those of the great auks. The oldest great auk remains, 75,000 years old, were found at Gibraltar. Great auks are depicted in late Stone Age cave paintings, 18,5000 years old, near Marseilles. Their remains have been found in Norwegian kitchen middens from 13,000 to 2,000 years ago. More

Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis More Images More

Pinguinus impennis the great auk or garefowl, is the 'penguin of the north'. Pinguinus impennis is the only flightless auk. The great auk ranged from Canada to Norway, including Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Hunting was responsible for the decline and eventual extinction of the great auk. The last great auk hunt took place on 3rd June 1844, on Eldey Island off southwestern Iceland, when a breeding pair was thoughtlessly slaughtered. More

using their wings, but the great auk had flipperlike wings, too short for flight. It was the original penguin (true penguins are unrelated birds native to the Southern Hemisphere), and the largest recent member of the family Alcidae, probably weighing 5500-8000 g and stretching 65 cm long. More

Great Auk - Definition = Great Auk Conservation status: Extinct (1844) image:Greatauk. More