Great Auk

True Wild Life | Birds | Large breeding colonies of this flightless, penguin-like sea bird once gathered on rocky islands and coasts of the North Atlantic in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles, and Scandinavia. A strong swimmer, the great auk wintered as far south as Florida and southern Spain.

Its extermination began with a slaughter for food and bait by local inhabitants, and continued for the bird’s fat and feathers. As the birds became scarce, they were collected for a well-paid trade in skins and eggs. The last known living pair and one egg were taken in Iceland in 1844, and the great auk is now represented in collections only by bones, skins, and eggs.

Great auk bird

great auk in water

great auk flying

great auk egg