Birds · Charadriiformes · Alcidae

Great Auk

Pinguinus impennis

Extinct

No living individual remains anywhere in the world. See full glossary

The great auk is an extinct species of charadriiform bird of the family Alcidae. It was the largest of the auks. Unlike today's auks, the great auk was unable to fly, although it was a good swimmer and diver. By the end of the sixteenth century it had already disappeared from continental Europe. It survived in Iceland for some decades. It became completely extinct in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Weight

4 kg – 5 kg

Size

75 cm – 85 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Impossible (extinct)

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Fun facts

GeneralA flightless northern seabird; the last known pair was killed in Iceland in 1844.
It was the original penguin: European sailors called it penguin, and when explorers in the south found similar birds they applied the same name to them, although they were not related at all.
The last two known individuals were strangled on the Icelandic island of Eldey on 3 June 1844 at the request of a collector, and one of them was incubating an egg that was broken in the struggle.
Its extinction was one of those that prompted the first bird protection laws in the United Kingdom, back in the nineteenth century.
It was the original 'penguin': European sailors applied that name to this auk centuries before reaching the southern hemisphere, and the Antarctic birds were named after it for the resemblance, despite not being related. The last known pair was strangled on the islet of Eldey (Iceland) on 3 June 1844, and the egg the female was incubating broke in the struggle. About 80 mounted specimens and about 75 eggs survive in museums.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Rocky islands and cold waters of the North Atlantic
Size at birth: The chick may have developed exceptionally fast and left the colony at barely nine days old
Gestation / incubation: About 44 days of incubation, by both parents
Litter / clutch size: 1 egg

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinguinus_impennis