Everybody who has ever seen a guillemot, razorbill or puffin, sees a comparison with penguins. Their feet far behind, they stand straight with their fatty belly on their short legs in their black and white plumage. Guillemot, razorbills and puffins all belong to the family of Alcidae. Until the mid19th century, another member of the Alcidae lived in the waters of the North Atlantic: the pinguinus impennis, garefowl or great auk. The great auk was the largest of the alcid family. It was about 75 to 85 cm tall and weighed about 5 kilograms. It couldn't fly, but was an excellent swimmer and diver.
The name pinguinus is supposed to originate from the Welsh "pen gwyn", which means "white head" and refers to a white spot on the head in summer plumage. Penguins are named after the great auk, but the species are not related. The closest related bird of the great auk is the razorbill.
The great auk couldn't fly and was clumsy on land, however spent most of his time on sea foraging for food. It needed to go ashore only to breed.
For a nesting site, the birds needed rocky islands with sloping shorelines close to their feeding areas. These places are not very numerous, and there have probably been no more than 20 breeding grounds in the world. Only six former breeding colonies are known, among which one on St. Kilda.
The great auk couldn't fly and was clumsy on land, however spent most of his time on sea foraging for food. It needed to go ashore only to breed.
For a nesting site, the birds needed rocky islands with sloping shorelines close to their feeding areas. These places are not very numerous, and there have probably been no more than 20 breeding grounds in the world. Only six former breeding colonies are known, among which one on St. Kilda.
Martin Martin describes the great auk or "gairfowl" in his "A voyage to St. Kilda" written in 1697. Martin travelled to St. Kilda in June 1697. According to Martin the great auk returned to St. Kilda on the 1st of May annually and went away mid June. So it didn't have much time to rear his young. I haven't found any record of the St. Kildans hunting the great auk; Martin doesn't mention it. They certainly did not take the eggs of the bird, because - like the fulmar- the great auk layed only once every season
The bird was quite common until the second half of the 18th century. It was found in the North Atlantic from Canada and the United States, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, British Isles, France as far south as northern Spain. The story of its eradication is a cruel one. Vulnerable as they were on their nesting grounds, the poor creatures were hunted down for meat, feathers, down and oil. They were plucked alive, thrown in boiling water or used as fuel, for their oily skin was burning easily.
They were hunted so much, that already in 1553 the birds were officially protected.
Later, when they became even more rare, the birds were killed by strangling for collectors who wanted a specimen.
The bird was quite common until the second half of the 18th century. It was found in the North Atlantic from Canada and the United States, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, British Isles, France as far south as northern Spain. The story of its eradication is a cruel one. Vulnerable as they were on their nesting grounds, the poor creatures were hunted down for meat, feathers, down and oil. They were plucked alive, thrown in boiling water or used as fuel, for their oily skin was burning easily.
They were hunted so much, that already in 1553 the birds were officially protected.
Later, when they became even more rare, the birds were killed by strangling for collectors who wanted a specimen.
In 1844 a great auk was caught on Stac an Armin, and tied up alive. By that time the bird was already a rarity on St. Kilda, because the story goes that the inhabitants believed the auk
was a witch who caused a storm and therefore beat it to death. I don't think the people from St. Kilda would have believed the auk was a witch had they been familiar with the bird. Anyway, this great auk is the last documented sighting in the British Isles. In the same year a breeding couple of great auks was killed in Iceland, and in 1852 the last individual sighting was recorded on Newfoundland.
was a witch who caused a storm and therefore beat it to death. I don't think the people from St. Kilda would have believed the auk was a witch had they been familiar with the bird. Anyway, this great auk is the last documented sighting in the British Isles. In the same year a breeding couple of great auks was killed in Iceland, and in 1852 the last individual sighting was recorded on Newfoundland.
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