Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis)  

The great auk was a large, flightless, black and white bird found throughout the northern Atlantic Ocean. It was very similar in appearance and behavior to a penguin, although much more closely related to puffins than penguins. In fact, the word “penguin” comes from one name for the great auk, long before it was applied to the birds that we know today when they were discovered in the southern hemisphere.

Great auks were diving birds that hunted small fish. Although unable to fly through the air, like their southern counterparts the great auk “flew” through the water by flapping its wings. They were not very graceful on land and tended to waddle very slowly. This made them easy prey for hunters and sailors. Although great auks were hunted for thousands of years on a small scale, when whaling ships began to travel in the northern Atlantic, the birds became a major source of meat for sailors. They were also eventually hunted for their thick down feathers and their oil.

By the 1800s, great auks were very scarce. Most of the remaining birds were found on one island off the coast of Iceland. In 1830, during a violent volcanic eruption, the island actually sank into the sea and many of the last auks disappeared. Sadly, the few birds that remained were sought after by museums and collectors, and the last pair of great auks and their egg were collected in 1844.