Great Auk

The Great Auk (the Pinguinus impennis) is also referred to as flightless seabird, garefowl extinct (great auk extinct) since 1844. Great auks belong to the family of Alcidae (order Charadriiformes). They bred in the colonies on rocky islands off North Atlantic coasts (St. Kilda, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Funk Island off Newfoundland); subfossil remains have been found as far south as Spain, Florida, and Italy.

Physical Characteristics

Let us see some of the physical characteristics of the great Auk bird.

The Great Auk bird was 75 - 85 cms (30 - 33 in) tall and weighed up to 5 kgs (11 pounds), making it the largest alcid to survive into the modern era, whereas the second-largest member of the alcid family overall (the prehistoric Miomancalla was larger). It consists of a white belly, a black back. The black beak was hooked and heavy, with grooves on its surface. During the summer, great auk plumage exhibited a white patch over each eye. And, during the winter, the great Auk lost these patches instead of developing a white band stretching between the eyes.

The wings were as small as 15 cm (6 in) long, rendering the bird flightless. Instead, the great Auk bird was defined as a powerful swimmer, a trait that is used in hunting. Its favorite prey was fish, including capelin and Atlantic menhaden, and crustaceans. Although it was quick in the water, it was awkward on land.

Great auk pairs mated for life. They nested in extremely social and dense colonies, laying one egg on the bare rock. The egg was white with differential brown marbling. Both the parents participated in the incubation of the egg for up to 6 weeks before the young hatched. The young ones left the nest site after 2–3 weeks, although the parents continued to care for it.

The below figure represents a Great auk bird(the Pinguinus impennis), the lithograph of an illustration by John James Audubon.

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Importance of Great Auk

The Great Auk was an essential part of several Native American cultures, both as a symbolic item and a food source. The big auk bones were buried with many Maritime Archaic individuals. One burial discovered included a few covered by more than 200 great auk beaks that are presumed to be the remnants of the cloak, which are made of great auks' skins.

The early European explorers to the Americas have used the great Auk as a convenient food source or as fishing bait, reducing its count. The downing of the bird was in high demand in Europe, a factor which largely eliminated the European populations by the mid 16th century. Scientists soon began to realize that the great Auk was disappearing, and it became the beneficiary of several early environmental laws, but this proved ineffectual.

Its growing rarity increased interest from the European museums and private collectors in obtaining eggs and skins of the bird. In the year 1844, 3 June, the last two confirmed specimens were killed on the Eldey, off the coast of Iceland, ending the last well-known breeding attempt. Later, a few stories of wandering persons being apprehended or spotted go unverified. One record of great Auk in 1852 is considered by few to be the last sighting of a member of the species. The Great Auk is mentioned in many novels, and the scientific journal of the American Ornithological Society was named until 2021 - The Auk (now Ornithology) in honor of the bird.

Etymology

The Great Auk was said as one of the 4,400 animal species, which are formally defined by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial Alca impennis. The name Alca is defined as a Latin derivative of the Scandinavian word for razorbills, including their relatives. The bird was also known in the literature even before this and was defined in 1605 by Charles d'Ecluse as Mergus Americanus. Also, this included a woodcut that represents the oldest unambiguous visual depictions of the bird.

Until 1791, the Species were not placed in their own scientific genus, the Pinguinus. The generic name is defined from the Spanish, French and Portuguese name for the species, in turn from the Latin pinguis, which means "plump," and the specific name, impennis, is from the Latin and refers to the lack of pennae or flight feathers.

Behavior

Great auks moved slowly and occasionally used their wings to help them navigate difficult terrain. When they did run, it was awkward and with the short steps in a straight line. They had a few natural predators, primarily large marine mammals, such as the white-tailed eagles and orca. Polar bears preyed on the great Auk's nesting colonies. Reportedly, this species had no innate fear of humans, including their awkwardness and flightlessness on the land, which compounded their vulnerability.

Humans preyed upon them as food, for feathers, and also as specimens for private collections and museums. Great auks reacted to the noises, but they were rarely frightened by the sight of something. They aggressively used their bills both in the dense nesting sites and when captured or threatened by humans. These birds are much believed to have had a life span of around 20 - 25 years. During the winter season, the great Auk migrated south, either in small groups or pairs, but never with the total nesting colony.

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Reproduction

The historical descriptions of the great auk breeding behavior are somewhat said to be unreliable. It was in the early and mid-May when Great Auks began to pair. They are also believed to have mated for life (although a few theorize that great auks could have mated outside to their pair, a trait seen in razorbill). Once they got paired, they nested at the base of cliffs in the colonies, likely where they got copulated. The married birds performed a social performance, bobbing their heads and displaying their bill markings, white eye patch, and yellow lips.

These colonies were incredibly thick and congested, with some estimates claiming that one great nesting Auk for every one square metre (11 square feet) of ground, and they were sociable. When the colonies included alcid's other species, the great auks were dominant because of their size.

Diet

Typically, this alcid fed in shoaling waters that were shallower than those frequented by other alcids, however some have been spotted as far as 500 kilometres from shore later in the mating season. They are thought to have fed in groups or flocks. Their major food was fish, usually weighing 40 - 50 g (1+3⁄8 - 1+3⁄4 oz) and 12  - 20 cm (4+1⁄2 - 8 in) in length, but occasionally their prey was up to half the own length of birds. Based on the remains that are associated with great auk bones found on ecological and morphological considerations and 

The Atlantic capelin and menhaden appear to be their preferred prey on Funk Island. Shorthorn sculpins, lumpsuckers, sand lance, cod, and crabs have all been proposed as probable prey. The great Auk's young are thought to have consumed plankton, as well as crustaceans and fish regurgitated by adults.

Hunting Attempts of Great Auks

The Great Auk's hunting was not said to be a new practice. First, humans began settling in Icelandic territories and Scandinavia as far back as 6,000 years ago and the Great Auks were estimated to be in the millions. A 4,000-year-old burial site in Newfoundland contained no below 200 Great Auk beaks, which were attached to ceremonial clothing, suggesting they were essential to Maritime Archaic people. Similarly, their beaks and bones have been discovered in the ancient tombs of Native Americans and palaeolithic Europeans.

The Great Auk was wanted by the majority for more than its meat. Its feathers, oil, fat and eggs made the original penguin much increasingly valuable. In particular, the down industry helped propel the bird to extinction. After the supply of eider duck feathers was depleted (due to overhunting), feather businesses dispatched employees to the Great Auk nesting grounds on Funk Island in 1760. By 1810, the birds were harvested every spring until every last bird on the island was killed.

A few conservation attempts were made to protect the future of birds. A petition was drafted to help for bird's help, and in 1775 the Nova Scotian Govt asked the parliament of Great Britain to ban Auk's killing. That petition was granted, saying that anyone taking their eggs or caught killing the auks for feathers was beaten in public. However, still, the fishermen were allowed to kill the auks if their meat was used as bait.

Best Flightless Bird 

Great Auk was given as the best flightless bird. It was a large puffin-like seabird (both puffins, including its relatives, are in the family known as alcids), which lived on both sides of the Atlantic. They spent most of their lifetime fishing at sea but came to the rocky islands in big colonies to nest. Every pair laid only one egg.

Not only was the Great Auk, but the only flightless bird of Europe and North America, it was the bird penguins are named after. Its scientific name is referred to as Pinguinus impennis.